Golden Job 黄金兄弟 (2018) - Hong Kong / China
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
One of the biggest problem with the anticipated Young and Dangerous reunion cast is style over substance and a film that relies heavily on the existing chemistry of the ensemble cast fails to engage or click with the audience. The result is an extremely generic action adventure that essentially disconnect with the established fan base of the original Young and Dangerous series. It’s been over 20 years since the first film and technically not billed as a sequel and strictly a standalone film, the biggest failure is in the direction. Action set pieces are well shot, but other dramatic scenes are lacking and that is primarily explained by the film director being Chin Ka Lok. There is no question that Chin is a good action director, but lack any artistic flair or experience to direct a smooth and engaging movie experience.
Ekin Cheng once again take centre stage and is simply his 90s unappealing self with wooden acting and manufactured smile. Michael Tse is allowed more room to express himself as the main villain, but overacts at crucial moments. Jordan Chan is limited to looking cool and meanwhile Jerry Lamb is almost unrecognisable from the 90s. Perhaps the best actor comes in the form of veteran Eric Tsang and martial arts superstar Japanese Yasuaki Kurata but their limited screen time is wasted.
All in all, “Golden Job” simply stays in one gear and never go beyond any established genre convention. This would be perfectly fine if it was entertaining or even engaging, however, the film lacks a Hong Kong touch or even any indication of it being part of Hong Kong cinema. The effect is a film relying largely on the original Young and Dangerous cast and like the action scenes, it looks stylish and even cool, but it failed to connect with me.
I rated it 6/10