Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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)

vince4953529 This is an interesting big-budget commercial movie about gangsters in Taiwan. I've seen a few Taiwanese films about gangsters or criminals before, but none this polished. Monga is well-acted and has good cinematography. But there are several problems that I've seen with this film. Firstly, Dragon Lee looks very much like Tom Cruise, and if you have Tom Cruise as one of your lead gangsters (let alone in a Taiwanese film) then I have to say it's bad casting. Second thing that bothers me see the alternation between Taiwanese and Chinese being spoken by them. I have friends who speak Taiwanese only among each other, and no they do not alternate between Chinese; let alone gangsters in the 80's with proud Taiwanese heritage. Thirdly, Monga is too clean and nice in the movie. In reality many parts of Monga is a seedy place with many sketchy people and teenagers. There are much trash on the ground, run-down houses... but in the film there isn't much portrayal of the seediness and grittiness of the area. I can't feel the Monga that I knew in this movie. And that's the problem with commercial movies in Taiwan, where everything is just a bit too sanitized (English song played in the background, please).This film lacks a bit of realism. The violence is there, and the older gangsters do looked more real, but overall it could be better. It's nice to see the Taiwanese film industry begin to revive slowly, but I wish commercialism won't destroy this movement.

dmuel Monga is a combination gangster story/ Asian male bonding story, which begins by revealing the early delinquent life of a group of boys who eventually make the leap to a full-blown criminal lifestyle. Much of this evolution takes place while the bonds that develop among the youths deepen. The film mostly focuses on three principles in the group. As their exploits become increasingly violent, they eventually join a criminal organization headed by Boss Geta, the leader of a local syndicate, and from there allegiances become more complicated. One of the young men does have an offbeat romance with a prostitute, but otherwise the core of the movie remains focused on the intense relationship between the males in this young gang. A betrayal by one member brings emotions to a fever pitch, but not with any unexpected consequences. While the film is well-acted, this viewer found it just a bit too long, at over 140 minutes. Also, the film strives for sympathy as we eventually watch these young men's lives come to ruin, a sympathy which does not come easily given their penchant for problem-solving through violence. By the end of the film they have long lost their innocence; sympathy from the viewer is not so easily gleaned, even though the film would like us to continue to think of them as wayward youth.