Gosh...how didn't this movie do better...I'm actually very surprised there isn't even any site for this!Don't listen to the bad comments made about this movie, if you can get hold of it ...do!It kinda starts off like a eighteens cert ed version of The Karate Kid for the first half of the movie and then for the second...it is more like a mafia film like scarface.I have to say, if there's one fault in this movie it is the second half.The first half was brilliant but in the second half...our main hero sorta turns bad which is kinda a downer!Although for the first half the film is still worth watching anyway...it starts of with a young Asian guy who goes to new york with his brother.The minute he gets into school though trouble starts...there's this evil gang who wont leave him alone...so he decides to get his own team to fight against them!There are some memorable and likable scenes like when he goes into the laundry shop but forgot his ticket number...but the young girl feels in a generous mood and races him to find it in the shop...and they both seem to have fun chasing around trying to find it first...its sad when they leave each other!So all in all id say rent this movie (although it is hard to track down)!
5 Reviews
You can go far with a gun.
Chthonic26 January 2001
It stands on it's own as a Gang movie. One gang rules the turf. Another gang gets involved. They fight...and someone dies. I rented this movie with nothing better to do and found myself thinking about other Gang movies where people just shoot themselves.Maybe I'm wrong, but for it's time it might have been good. But today..it's gets boring quick. Rent it if you like Gang Volence. You won't be disapointed.
Underrated gangster movie
Nen_Master35722 March 2022
Back in 1990, I had the great fortune to watch on the big screen, this cult mafioso classic, starring the very charismatic Simon Yam. In those days, I've read a bunch of books about the shady world of hoodlums where I was introduced to concepts such as "cutting keys" and "clipping". Tongs is another true to life criminal saga based on the exploits of immigrant Chinese youth street gangs.
The film perfectly captures the vibe and feel of iconic mobster films such as The Godfather, Blood In Blood Out and even Anak Ni Baby Ama (from the Philippines). This one is definitely recommended.
The film perfectly captures the vibe and feel of iconic mobster films such as The Godfather, Blood In Blood Out and even Anak Ni Baby Ama (from the Philippines). This one is definitely recommended.
The american cut is badly dubbed and clipped. Painful to watch.
Captain_Couth8 March 2004
Tongs (1986) I saw this movie several years ago on videotape. It was a clipped dubbed copy of the movie. From what I saw it was a bad and incoherent mess. It was all over the place. The worst part was the dubbing. Any seriousness was gone because the voice actors were terrible. I might look upon this movie differently if I saw it in it's original format. But for now all I have to say is the english version blows big time.
Mildly recommended for a few cheap laughs.
D-
Simon Yam's still the man!
Mildly recommended for a few cheap laughs.
D-
Simon Yam's still the man!
A Gangster's Fairy-Tale
Elbow12 October 1999
'Tongs' is essentially 'Scarface' in Chinatown. As such it is an intense story, filled with the violence and melodrama that make the gangster genre so compelling. Simon Yam is great as a migrant who comes to America and blasts his way to the higher rungs of the underworld ladder.
A diamond in the rough for gangster fans. As good or better than many of the similar Hong Kong crime tales, not counting John Woo or Tsui Hark's work.
A diamond in the rough for gangster fans. As good or better than many of the similar Hong Kong crime tales, not counting John Woo or Tsui Hark's work.
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