Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

donald_500 There is nothing wrong with the story board…a young man got bullied in school and eventually join the gang to protect himself. And then it's the story of his gangster life, brother hood, betrayal, woman… The director try to put the message into the movie through the story, however I don't feel the message comes solid and the it ends up just become a slogan with no meaning. Another thing I don't feel comfortable with the movie is…the costume. To me, the people are more like 60's to 70's dressed. You know… the bell bottom, the skinny shirt, the flower print…. This is nothing reminds me the 80's! Well I ain't no Taiwanese and I don't know the fashion sense in Taiwan in 80's. Maybe was like this there. In conclusion, the story goes smooth but somehow the core message is missing (very weak) and the costume which really confuse you the era takes place.

1minutefilmreview The world of cinema has had a long and fruitful love affair with the underworld. From crudely un-sleek Tony Montana to Kitano's too cool for school gangsters, our fondness for these rebels who live on the outer ring of rules-following society stem from our own yearning to break free of authoritative constraints. In 'Monga', directed by actor/director Doze Niu, a young man named 'Mosquito' falls in with the wrong company and like us, is drawn into a love affair with all things explicitly illegal. Set in the 80's, there's a feeling of gleeful reminiscence when watching this. Violence and back-stabbings occur like bees drawn to honey-pregnant flowers as with all secret societies but it is all done with such a sentimentalized, romanticized gloss that it came across as refreshing as a glass of lemonade on a scorching day. We feel special mention should be given to Ethan Yuan. He plays 'Monk' with such conviction and heartbreaking vulnerability we felt he anchored the whole movie with his presence. Similarly, its impressive cinematography and direction gets a shout-out too.

changmoh RELEASED in February 2010, the epic-styled "Monga" became a runaway hit in Taiwan, grossing US$1.6 million in its first week. Its success in Taiwan should be obvious. Besides the historical interest in its locale (the Wanhua district of Taipei), there is the attraction of its young and hot cast of TV stars like Ethan Juan, Mark Chao and the Tom Cruise lookalike, Rhydian Vaughan.Needless to say, Monga's success gives fresh hope to starting a 'new wave' in Taiwan's film industry. Elsewhere, however, it has to compete with the more vibrant and better-made Hong Kong gangster efforts - and the differences and weaknesses may be glaring.Set in the 80s, high school student Mosquito (Mark Chao) explains at the start that he became a gangster because of a chicken leg. The chicken leg was his lunch and when a bully snatched it away from him, the so-called Prince Gang, led by Dragon Lee (Vaughan) intervenes - and recruits him into the 'brotherhood of five' - with Monk (Ethan Juan), Monkey and A-Po. The boys get along reasonably well with their elders, the Temple Front triad led by Dragon's dad, Geta (Ma Ju-lung).The gang's youthful skirmishes and street fights soon develop into a more sinister conflict when mainland gangsters like Gray Wolf (played by director Doze Nui himself) try to muscle into Monga with guns - considered cowardly weapons by the locals. With a power struggle in the cards, conspiracies and betrayal follow. Will friendship triumph over greed and power? The coming-of-age story may seem clichéd but it has enough twists and turns to sustain our interest. Director Niu has developed Mosquito's character (as a fatherless kid brought up by his hair-salon owner mother) well enough to get our sympathy even though some of the subplots may be rather incredible. A case in point is his platonic relationship with a young prostitute (Ko Chia-yen) that seems a bit badly contrived. Also, the camera work on the Monga locations looks good (at least to non-Taipeh residents) and the lapses into Hokkein dialect lend a touch of reality to the film (although it can be irritating to some).What I dislike most about the movie is the slow and draggy narrative - with repetitious bonding scenes taking nearly two-and-a-half hours to unfold a story that should be familiar to fans of gang flicks about brotherhood and betrayal. Indeed, compared to Western and HK films, the action here is mighty tame. Acting-wise, Chao and Vaughan appear rather wooden but Juan provides a powerful account of himself. Niu is also convincing as the mysterious old flame of Mosquito's mother and newcomer to the district.Verdict: Promising but not compelling. - LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

George_Huang After the stunning "What On Earth Have I Done Wrong?," the second film by the persistent director/actor Niu Cheng-Ze(aka Doze Niu) has finally been released under expectations. Besides the attractions of the new generation actors/idols Juan Ching-Tien and Zhao You-Ting(aka Mark Zhao), everyone was also expecting, if this will be better than "Cape No. 7," the Taiwanese box office miracle back in 2008. From the first day box office record, it was helped by the success of "Cape." As for the film itself, it's so much better than "Cape." The story begins from a non-Minnanese teenager, who was raised in a single parent family and had no friends, faced the embrace of the "Prince Gang," an inheritor of a major local gang, he of course couldn't resist the eagerness of getting recognized. But the best of youth also came to the inevitable testament of humanity.Before I saw the film, I couldn't help wondering, if this will have the shadow of "I Vitelloni" by Fellini, or the look of "Goodfellas" by Fellini's follower Scorsese, or even the glamour of "City of God," by the Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles. When it comes to the violent scenes, the way Niu used the slow motions and soft instrumental score reminds me of Scorsese's romantic sentiment. I could also tell he was trying to avoid any too artistic presentation. With the outstanding editing, it was very intense with the length of 140min. It inherited the deep observation of Taiwanese gangsters by Hou Hsiou-Hsien and Chang Tso-Chi but also gives it a new look for the audience to get close to more easily.Though it's not perfect, the plot came out of Niu's thinking direction makes it more reasonable than any other new Taiwanese films. The desire for friendships of the accepted boy, Mosquito, led him to be the most loyal member in the gang. He was too innocent to see the fragility of humanity. Monk, who was considered the smartest one, could only be trapped in a fate of religious superstitions. His value of loyalty, due to one single false judgment and the raised anger of vengeance, has been pushed to the edge of his reason with the paradox in his heart. To decrease the strong masculine of a gangster piece, Niu added the young prostitute who made Mosquito know what love is. This blended a sense of tenderness into the film smartly.Comparing to saying it has the romanticism of "Goodfellas," it's in fact closer to the tragedy of the conflict between idealism and realism we see in "Infernal Affairs" and the remake "The Departed." It's not told from a first person, unlike most Scorsese works, but from the upgraded multiple point of views such as "The Departed." More strictly defined, Mosquito and Monk, like Tony Leung and Andy Lau, DiCaprio and Damon, are the two narrators of the story. But shamefully, the characters lack of the quality of more vivid or heartfelt which they could've been, despite of the enough backgrounds and motivations and the natural twists and truths. While being so, it's still a film that represents the period and culture in Taiwan truthfully. It is unique and has the unique feeling that only Taiwanese audience can connect to.Sandee Chan's music leads the atmosphere successfully. It even has a slight epic feeling of "The Godfather" and a slight sharpness of "City of God." With also the quality guaranteed sound processing by the national treasure Tu Du-Che, the performance of sound in the film really reached an international standard. Niu selected a hit at the time "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" by Air Supply especially to describe the time Mosquito and the young prostitute spent together. It also added up a bit of cute and retro cheesiness. The big space for the two leading actors to interpret also made them the promising candidates for the year-end's Golden Horse Awards. This film can also be seen as the unity of Taiwanese filmmakers, such as an award-winning actor from "Cape No. 7," the producer of "Orz Boyz" and even the director of "Winds of September" who joined as an assistant director with his crew. It all shows another Taiwanese Cinema New Wave has officially been set off.