“Election” is the first of a two part set centered around the Hong Kong Triad. Yes, there’s tons of these films floating around, but Johnnie To seems to have an innate ability bring out the best from the familiar genre.

Every two years there’s an election held in Hong Kong, but its not a governmental election that the movie revolves around. Rather, it’s an election for the Chairman of the Hong Kong Triads. The bosses from the various regional groups come together to elect one undisputed leader. This time around, the contestants are Big D (Tony Leung Ka Fai) and Lok (Simon Yam). Their styles and mannerisms could not be any more different. Big D is simply a human time bomb, walking around with a lit fuse. Lok, on the other hand, is gentlemanly and is as apt to use his brains as he would brute force. The two are run neck and neck in the tight election. Eventually, Lok pulls ahead and wins the election, but Big D refuses to acknowledge defeat. An all important symbolic Dragon Head baton is to be given to the newly elected Triad leader. That baton is currently in mainland China and Big D plans to retrieve it before Lok does. Furthermore the Hong Kong police are aware of the situation and are ready to come down hard on the group to prevent an all out gang war. Lok is now placed in the ultra delicate position to maintain face by going forward as the Chairman of the Triads, while avoiding an all out war with Big D. The fate of Hong Kong Triads lays in the balance.

And so that’s the way Johnny To’s “Election” begins. One of the more impressive aspects about the film is the dizzying amount of great performances placed into the film. From Simon Yam to Tony Leung Kai Fai to Tian-lin Wang to Nick Cheung and many others, these guys all bring their A-game. What’s even more remarkable about this fact is that the final result doesn’t lead to a single performer coming out as the star of the show, rather the entire mystique of the Hong Kong Triads is what stays in your mind after the watching the film.

As fun as it was to watch all these great performances and the Johnnie To magic itself, the conclusion of the film didn’t quite live up to all that promise. The final scene is set within a small island where monkeys surround the area. An easy allegory for the barbaric actions that would soon occur. The display of brutality that is then shown, appears to be created foremost for shock value and then as a simple lesson, that no matter how romanticized the Triad world can be, they still live in a primitive world where only the strongest survive. The problem with this? Just the simplicity of it, compared to all the double crosses and mind games hinted at in the first half of the film. Basically, the movie promised the world but delivered a fortune cookie.

Even with that minor quibble aside, there is still a lot to admire about the film. If you want a taste of the Hong Kong underworld, than “Election” will likely leave you amazed. Even if you don’t care for the genre or that part of society, the suspense and plot developments should easily win you over.