To Be Number One is an overlong, overblown melodrama based on the life of a Hong Kong triad boss. Probably director Poon Man-Kit's best work, this film is mostly remembered for a bizarre scene, so wrong on so many levels, where Kent Cheng Jak-Si humiliates Amy Yip Ji-Mei while knocking around her assets. This film is a good example of excellent work from Academy Award winning cinematographer Peter Pau Tak-Hai's early career.

It's a funny thing about movies, you know? Here we have one HKMDB reviewer who says that "Ray Lui swaggers and sweats through his over-the-top performance". Another internet critic says that "Lui sleepwalks through his performance". I'd say his work falls somewhere in the middle of those two ends of the acting spectrum.