Movie review - The Mob ((Long hu zhi ba)

The Mob (Long hu zhi ba) **1/2 (out of five) This subtitled period crime drama from China is long on first-rate action sequences and, if anything, too long on characters and plotlines. If you can keep track of who is who, and which interests they’re fighting for, then the internecine struggle may be as satisfying as the adrenaline parts. No sex. Much violence. Not so much blood and gore.

Shanghai. 1928. All the gangs have allied into a consortium with strict codes of ethics and rigidly defined territories, so peace can reign among them. It does for quite a while. The problem begins when the chairman’s strict prohibition of opium trading rubs one greedy family the wrong way. That’s when the excrement starts hitting the rotating ventilation devices from many directions.

The film opens with the beginning of a huge clash between two gangs on a dark, rainy city street. Then it cuts back three months to set the stage and show all that led up to where we started. We meet a lot of players, with some uncertainty as to which ones are the relative “good guys”. The main focus is on power struggles within and between the families, mixed with their common interest in minimizing the control of the French, British and other foreigners holding sway in various ways over the local economy. Especially THEIR businesses.

I’m not going to bother you with further plot or character details. The themes of rivalries and revenge are old hat. The reasons to watch are visual and visceral. The sets and costumes are superb. We’re treated to lavish scenes in clubs, casinos and homes from a gilded age of extravagance. No expense spared. Plus, several of the set pieces with mostly fists, feet and non-firearm weapons will satisfy ardent action junkies. Fight choreography is excellent, and the editing allows more understanding of the mayhem than is often the case. Too many quick cuts and/or too little lighting have diluted the enjoyment of such displays under lesser hands than Director Zhao Cong and the production team he assembled. We can hope they will stick together for other projects, as well.

(The Mob, mostly in Chinese, with subtitles, is available on digital platforms as of 9/10/24