Despite Simon Yam possibly being one of the coolest people on the face of the earth and a damn good actor to boot, he can't save To Where He Belongs from being anything more than an average Triad movie. From beginning to end, the film is underwhelming in every sense of the word. Even the novice Hong Kong film viewer has seen this kind of stuff done before, and done better.

In the movie, Simon plays the usual "hard-ass gangster with a heart of gold" who falls for a girl (Gigi Leung) with a terminal disease. The problem is that she's also dating his right-hand man (Steven Ma), and the gang war erupting is putting a strain on the relationship. This is by-the-book Triad stuff all the way, right down to the schmaltzy Cantopop ballads.



Gigi Lai. Image courtesy of WideSight.
Even though the actors generally do a good job, the problem is that the script depends so much of melodrama that their performances seem forced. When coupled with a lack of action, To Where He Belongs just ends up feeling flat. This reviewer might be a bit jaded after watching hundreds of these types of films, but To Where He Belongs lacks any sort of spark which makes a good movie all that more watchable.

There is nothing really horrible with To Where He Belongs, but there is really nothing to compel a potential viewer to watch this instead of dozens of other choices. Simon Yam has done much better work in other movies, Gigi Lai was more convincing (and sexier) in the Young and Dangeorus films, and if you're looking for some good old-fashioned Triad violent bits, you won't find them here. Unless you're a die-hard Simon Yam fan and must see every single movie he's been in, you're better off leaving this one for a "rainy day" rental.

[review from www.hkfilm.net]