Soi Cheang Pou-Soi's Shamo features Shawn Yu Man-Lok in the lead role. Sent to prison for the murder of his parents, young Ryo [Yu] turns his life around by studying karate with Kurakowa, the top instructor in the prison system, played with gusto by the great Francis Ng.

After his release from jail, he sets out to find and rescue his prostitute sister. But along the way, he must participate in the brutal mixed martial arts TV program known as Lethal Fight in order to further his quest for redemption. In the process, the viewer is treated to a visual array of violence and sexual abuse suffered by Ryo and his younger sister Natsumi, played by Pei Pei Wei-Ying, at the hands of their parents, his jailers, fellow prisoners and society as a whole.

Action direction by Jack Wong Wai-Leung blends the fighting scenes nicely with Soi Cheang's direction of the screenplay by Hashimoto Izo amd Szeto Kam-Yuen based on the famous Japanese manga. All technical aspects are nicely produced in this film.