Young and Dangerous

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Based off a popular Hong Kong Manhua called Teddy Boy, Young and Dangerous is a series of live-action films detailing the various underground societies of the city. The films primarily contributed to the image of the triads and was condemned by circles as over-glorifying these secret societies. Regardless, the popularity of the films led to a total of 10 sequels and spinoffs. The films also became a foothold for establishing its acting casts into mainstream Hong Kong actors.

The main series and spinoffs (in order of release) are as follows:

  • Young and Dangerous (1995)
    • The series begins with Chan Ho Nam (Ekin Cheng), "Chicken" Chiu (Jordan Chan), Tai Tin Yee (Michael Tse), Bao Pei (Jerry Lam) and his brother Chou Pei (Jason Chu) joining the "Hung Hing" society in their teens, quickly leading up to their young adult years. The plot of the story involves internal struggling of control within Hung Hing, where main antagonist "Ugly Kwan" (Francis Ng) successfully yanks the chairman position away and takes it for himself.
  • Young and Dangerous 2 (1996)
    • The story in the first sequel is told in two parts: the first deals with Chicken and his self-imposed exile to Taiwan during the previous film; the second involves the Hung Hing society attempting to ally with Chicken's Taiwanese triad "San Luen". At the same time, the branch leadership for Hong Kong's Causeway Bay is underway, with Ho Nam the top candidate, but a rivalry ensues between him and fellow Hung Hing member "Tai Fei" (Anthony Wong).
  • Young and Dangerous 3 (1996)
    • For the first time in the series, a rival triad in Hong Kong, "Tung Sing", begins usurping Hung Hing influence in the city. To that end, Tung Sing member "Crow" (Roy Cheung) frames Ho Nam for the murder of Hung Hing Chairman Chiang Tin Sung (Simon Yam). Meanwhile, Chicken finds a new love interest in Shuk Fan "Wasabi" (Karen Mok), daughter of the comedic, Badass Preacher Father "Lethal Weapon" Lam.
  • Once Upon a Time in Triad Society (1996)
    • A semi-spinoff of the franchise, the story tells of Ugly Kwan's rise and fall in the Hong Kong triads. While Francis Ng reprises his role as Kwan and Father Lam makes a cameo appearance, the plot does not necessarily mesh well with canon events.
  • Young and Dangerous 4 (1997)
    • Also called Young and Dangerous 97, when branch leadership is open for the Tuen Mun district, Chicken begins his campaign for it, but fellow Hung Hing member "Barbarian" also wants it. To that end, he resorts to ruthless Tung Sing member Yiu Yeung (Roy Cheung) for help in his candidacy. With Chairman Chiang Tin Sung dead, the Hung Hing society decides to elect Chiang's younger brother Chiang Tin Yeung (Alex Man). This movie brings previously established characters who appear on-screen for the first time: Ben Hon (Wan Yeung Ming), "Sister 13" (Sandra Ng) and "Prince".
  • Young and Dangerous 5 (1998)
    • Also called Young and Dangerous 98, the rival Tung Sing society returns to cause trouble again for Hung Hing, in the form of new leader Szeto Ho Nam (Mark Cheng). The backdrop for the film involves the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty back to China, with the focus being Ho Nam and his friends maturing from "boys" into "men", as they develop more formal, business-like dealings.
  • Portland Street Blues (1998)
    • The first official Spin-Off, Portland Street Blues provides a contrast to its predecessors by focusing on "Sister 13" and her facing the trials and tribulations of rising to become Hung Hing's branch leader of Portland Street in Mong Kok, alongside her willingness to forgo a heterosexual relationship. Set sometime before Young and Dangerous 5, the film also gives more details and insights on the rival Tung Sing society and the mutual friendship between Sister 13 and Ben Hon.
  • Young and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998)
    • Showcasing the earlier years of Ho Nam (Nicholas Tse) and Chicken (Sam Lee), this prequel showcases their earlier years and willingness to follow Hung Hing's "Uncle Bee".
  • The Legendary Tai Fei (1999)
    • In this Spin-Off, after Tai Fei obtains branch leadership status of the North Point district in Young and Dangerous 4, he discovers he has a son. Worse yet, his son is a member of the hated Tung Sing triad, now dealing in narcotics.
  • Those Were the Days... (2000)
    • This semi-prequel follows the life of Chicken before he joined the Hung Hing society. The film co-stars Gigi Leung as Chicken's childhood friend.
  • Born to be King (2000)
    • Canonically the last installment to the series, Born to be King, or better known as Young and Dangerous 6, begins with Chicken set to marry Nanako Kusaraki, the daughter of Japanese yakuza boss Isako Kusaraki (Sonny Chiba), to tie relationships between the Taiwanese San Luen triad and Kurasaki's Yamada clan. When Chicken is set up and framed again for murder, he seeks his old friends from Hung Hing to clear his name. Like Young and Dangerous 5, the 2000 Taiwan presidential elections serves as the backdrop for the film.
The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Young and Dangerous franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.
  • Action Girl - Wasabi briefly in Y&D3
  • Actor Allusion
  • Amnesiac Dissonance - What Smartie had to go through in Y&D3
  • Anyone Can Die
  • Arc Words - "The government has its laws; the society has its own."
  • Arranged Marriage - The kicker to Born to be King
  • Ax Crazy - Crow; Yiu Yeung might count, thanks to his penchant of listening to classical music while having people thrown off of buildings.
  • Badass Preacher - Father "Lethal Weapon" Lam, who, aside from being an ex-triad member, kicks Ugly Kwan, the most powerful person in Hung Hing at the time, in the face when he doesn't admit to causing Uncle Bee's death. Lam totally gets away with it.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension - Chicken and Wasabi, Ho Nam and Mei Ling (at first)
  • Benevolent Boss - Both the Chiang siblings: the elder was willing to relinquish his position as chairman to Ugly Kwan without confrontation (likely because he didn't want internal rivalries among Hung Hing to spill out onto the streets) and was willing to split the losses from money stolen with Ho Nam during his candidacy for Causeway Bay; the younger, although somewhat reluctant to replace his brother as leader of the society, returned because he felt a sense of filial piety to uphold.
    • Not to mention both men actually reward those working for them.
    • Lui Gong, San Luen's leader, in Y&D2 might count: while it seems doubtful he would allow an exiled Chicken to join his society, Chicken proved his worth by assassinating a rival politician, earning Lui Gong's trust, even promoting Chicken to branch leader. Subverted later when he reveals he was simply using Chicken as a bridge between Hung Hing and San Luen to seize control of Macau's gambling spots away from Hung Hing.
  • Bilingual Bonus - Beginning with Y&D2, spoken languages include Cantonese, Mandarin and Taiwanese. Born to be King featured no less than 5 languages.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing - Ting Yiu in Y&D2
  • Butch Lesbian - Sister 13, somewhat
    • Given the implication in Born to be King she and Ben Hon got married some time before the film, this might a subversion.
  • Call Back - See Arc Words
  • Cigar Chomper - Chiang Tin Yeung all the time
  • Cluster F-Bomb - Cantonese, after all, is known for its colorful swear words.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment - Smartie carjacks Ho Nam's MR2, so he and his buddies kidnap and take her to the mountains late in the night to punish her. She's given a choice: either let them rape her or finish eating a couple dozen barbeque pork buns. She chooses the latter.
  • Darker and Edgier - Y&D3 begins ascending the death toll among recurring characters; later films make it clear not even the main cast is entirely immune to harm.
  • Dream Team - In-universe example: Isako proposes an alliance between the financially powerful Hung Hing, San Luen and the Yamada clan. It's implied in the ending of Born to be King that all three societies agree to this.
  • Drugs Are Bad - In contrast to Tung Sing, it's Hung Hing's policy they do not handle the flow of drugs in the underground for Hong Kong. The exception is when Ugly Kwan was chairman, but he was notably corrupt.
  • Dual-Wielding - Wasabi handles two vegetable cleavers in her brief action stint in Y&D3.
  • Fake Nationality - Shu Qi from Mainland China portrays Malaysian Mei Ling in Y&D5.
    • Roy Cheung plays the Japanese Akira Kurosaki in Born to be King, but this becomes a subversion right from his introduction: he states he's actually Chinese, but was adopted by Isako because he didn't have any sons.
  • Field Promotion - Ho Nam goes from Uncle Bee's leading enforcer to branch leader of Wan Chai to branch leader of Causeway Bay to the most trusted lieutenant of Chairman Chiang by Y&D5, all in the span of 3 years. By Born to be King, Chiang steps down to retire and promotes Ho Nam to leader of the Hung Hing society.
    • Similarly, Chicken: another of Bee's top enforcers to branch leader of one of San Luen's districts to branch leader of Tuen Mun in the same amount of time as Ho Nam. In Born to be King, he marries Nanako, with implications from Isako that after he retires, Chicken will be leader of the Yamada clan.
  • First Love - Smartie for Ho Nam, Ting Yiu for Chicken
    • Second Love - Mei Ling for Ho Nam, but winds up becoming a Deconstruction, as Ho Nam hasn't learned to let go of Smartie, not even a look-a-like of her in Born to be King. Mei Ling was simply there when he needed someone.
  • Five-Man Band
  • Genki Girl - Mei Ling
  • Good Smoking, Evil Smoking - Anyone who's part of the triad smokes; no exceptions. Averted from Y&D5 onwards when Ho Nam decides to quit.
  • Hannibal Lecture
  • Hypocritical Humor - In Y&D5, Chairman Chiang wonders why Ho Nam isn't smoking anymore. Ho Nam says he quit; Chiang says that's a good thing, then offers Ho Nam a cigar.
  • I Never Said It Was Poison - When Barbarian's ousted for sabotaging Chicken's campaign during the election debate in Y&D5, he denies the claims and spills he had nothing to do with working alongside Yiu Yeung. Naturally, no one else in Hung Hing, aside from "Fat Lai", whom Barbarian was colloborating with, knew he had been under Tung Sing's payroll.
  • Infant Immortality - Horribly averted in the first film when Ugly Kwan has Uncle Bee and his entire family killed.
  • In-Series Nickname - "Chicken", because he Really Gets Around.
    • Shuk Fan coins herself "Wasabi"; as she states to Chicken, she can burn you.
  • Jerkass
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Ho Nam in the first film, Tai Fei
  • Killed Off for Real - Chou Pei, Uncle Bee, Chiang Tin Sung, Smartie, Tai Tin Yee, Banana and Blackie
  • Manipulative Bastard - Lui Gong in Y&D2
  • Meaningful Name - Sister 13 got her In-Series Nickname because on the day she was born, her father won multiple rounds with a Thirteen Terminals hand.
  • The Mole - Tai Fei in Y&D2
  • Name's the Same - Chan Ho Nam and Szeto Ho Nam
  • Nepotism - Subverted: Lui Gong's son, Lui Fu Kwan, returns to Taiwan from the United States in Born to be King. The entire San Luen triad believes he will succeed his father as head of the society, but Fu Kwan doesn't want the position, believe he's not fit to lead. Played straight later when it's revealed he's behind the conspiracy framing Chicken and plans to unite all of Taiwan's triads into one conglomerate, with the help of the new government. Averted at the climax of the film for having played with the Idiot Ball too much.
  • Never Bring a Knife to A Fist Fight - Yiu Yeung pulls out a hidden dagger during his last man standing bout with Ho Nam in Y&D4. He gets the short end of it when Fat Lai intervenes and kills him for pulling out a weapon in the first place.
  • Playing Against Type - Ng Man Tat, who regularly plays the comedic, Butt Monkey Sidekick to Stephen Chow's characters, appears in Portland Street Blues as Sister 13's tragic, gambling addict of a father.
  • Precision F-Strike
  • Speech Impediment - Smartie, except during her Amnesiac Dissonance period.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute - Banana for Chou Pei, after he was Killed Off for Real. Naturally used as an excuse for Jason Chu to return, since he portrays both roles, but in-universe, it's because Banana looks exactly like Chou Pei.
  • The Triads and the Tongs
  • Title Drop
  • Too Dumb to Live
  • True Companions - Deconstructed in Y&D4; Chou Pei unknowingly gave up Tai Tin Yee's location after the latter unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Barbarian to help Chicken's campaign for the branch leadership. Barbarian relays the info to Yiu Yeung, who orders Tin Yee to his death. Since Ho Nam, a well-respected branch leader in Hung Hing, can't allow to be lenient among the society, let alone his own friends, has Chou Pei beaten to an inch of his life.
  • Villainous Breakdown
  • Vitriolic Best Buds - Ben Hon and Sister 13; Born to be King, however, implies they got married.
  • What Happened to the Mouse? - Wondering what happened to Wasabi and why Chicken's getting married to Nanako, when he proposed to Wasabi at the end of Y&D4? You'll need to watch Those Were The Days...
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