Election 1 question *Spoilers*

[Chinoco]

Do you guys think that Lok PLANNED on killing Bid D? I don't think that he did.

I honestly think that for the sake of the society- he was trying to make things work. I think that Big D's comment about "sharing leadership" just put Lok over the edge. It was the final straw.

I think that if he was planning to get rid of him, he would have enlisted the help of his men. He certaintly wouldn't have invited his son and Big D's wife along on the fishing trip.

Any thoughts or opinions on this? I have not yet seen Election 2 (on it's way via mail), so please don't spoil anything from the sequel

Later,
Cinoco.

[JohnR]

I saw it the same way as you. As long as Lok was #1, he didn't mind sharing the booty with Big D. Like the cops, Lok wanted peace and stability, in order to most effectively do business. Things were working out for them. But Big D was a hothead and had no patience, so he couldn't wait until the next election. As soon as Lok discovered that Big D still had aspirations for the Chairmanship, he killed him.

They both wanted ultimate power and would anything to get/keep it. Lok was just as ruthless as Big D; the difference between them was Lok had brains and Big D had a hot temper.

Having said that, I don't think the fact that he had his son with him is evidence it wasn't planned, as this would have given Big D a sense of security and given Lok the element of surprise. But again, I don't think it was planned.

[Mike Thomason]

Funny...I read it completely differently. Just goes to show that film is a subjective medium and everyone has their own interpretation of a filmmaker's intent. I saw it as cold, calculated and planned down to the wire, and from the moment Lok formed the alliance with Big D he was already planning his demise -- as he had no intentions of "sharing" the leadership; though Lok was definitely the brains of the two, he appeared to me as someone who definitely wasn't a "sharing" kind of individual.

There were several key sequences and scenes that pointed towards this for me, throughout the film, but I only vaguely recollect them at this point in time. I could go back and rewatch the film, then offer pointers towards my interpretation, but ELECTION held about as much interest to me as Wong Ching Po's MOB SISTER...which I thought was diabolical. Plus, I've got half a dozen movies to watch and get reviewed for an American (print) publication in the short-term, and that's more pressing to me.

But I most certainly had a very different reading of the film than those already offered here...

[Chinoco]

I'll give you a few more reasons why I don't think it was planned, Dragon.

For one, after Big D and Lok work together getting rid of a potential rival; they are shown living it up all over town. Especially the scene with the two of them in the limo smoking cigars. They were laughing and having a mutual admiration society going on.

The scene that really backs up my point however, is when the two of them are having a talk on a rooftop. Big D is standing right near the edge and the way the camera moves, you almost think Lok is going to just push him right off. He DOESN'T however, and they continue to develop a friendship- or at very least a working relationship.

Here's my point in a nutshell. Why would Lok (wearing very nice expensive clothing by the way) take his kid along fishing in a planned brutal hit on Big D? Not to mention the fact that he had to break out in a full sprint to hunt down D's wife and savagely take her down with a shovel and a branch. Too many things could have gone wrong. Why not a simple shove off the rooftop or a regular triad family hit? In response to JohnR's post: I feel that he MAY have been ruthless enough to bring his son along- but was it practical? I don't think so. Remember, this guy (LOK) is the LEADER of the triad society. I think he would have had unlimited resources behind him were he planning a real "elimination".

As mentioned before- I think that he just finally snapped when he found out about D's desire for shared leadership.

I also saw your comment about "Mob Sister" being not the greatest. That's a shame as I have that movie as well as Election 2 ordered and being sent to me.

[vikungfu]

I agree that it wasn't planned but in Election 2 Lok is supoosedly more crazy and ruthless. So maybe it was! I still don't know if I'm gonna order 2 or not.

[Chinoco]

OK... I saw Election 2... I am a little disapointed. My review will be posted soon and I will discuss some of the problems I had with the film.

My question about whether or not Lok intended to kill big D is almost irrelevent due to the sequel. The reason being that NONE of the characters act anything like they did in the first movie!

[Chinoco]

My reviews for both Election 1 and 2 have been posted!