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Triad Election
Tartan USA

Triad Election reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 83 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.2 out of 10
based on 16 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 5 votes
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Siu-Fai Cheung, Ka Tung Lam, Suet Lam, Tian-lin Wang, and Ping-Man Tam

Power-hungry members of the Hong Kong Triads vie for leadership during an election campaign.


GENRE(S): Crime  |  Drama  |  Foreign  |  Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Nai-Hoi Yau
Tin-Shing Yip
 
DIRECTED BY: Johnny To  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: September 18, 2007 
Theatrical: April 25, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes, Color / B/W 
ORIGIN: Hong Kong 
LANGUAGE(S): Mandarin / Cantonese (with English subtitles) 

Original title "Hak Se Wui Yi Wo Wai Kwai"; also known as "Election 2"; Nominated, Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, 2007 Hong Kong Film Awards

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A muscular sequel to To's riveting 2005 gangster picture "Election."
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91
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Like the best crime stories, this one isn't about how the bad guys live, it's about how WE live.
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91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Cements director's place as mob-movie master.
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90
LA Weekly Scott Foundas
Outside of "Grindhouse," it may be the most bang for your buck to be had in a Los Angeles movie theater this season.
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90
The New York Times Manohla Dargis
More elegantly plotted and streamlined than the first film.
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88
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Set two years later, the sequel's the better film.
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80
Los Angeles Times Robert Abele
Like any good sequel, this film takes what is familiar with the original's concept -- in this case, an internecine struggle for supremacy -- and deepens it.
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80
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
In To's movies no one is innocent, and the social corruption has reached down to the soul. He orchestrates action scenes with an elegance that suggests Scorsese.
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80
The Hollywood Reporter Elizabeth Kerr
It's not all violence and brutality. To allows his morbid sense of humor to shine through. There are moments of absurd hilarity that don't necessarily lighten the mood so much as bring it down to earth. The performances are strong all around.
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80
Variety Russell Edwards
Distinguished by intelligence, wit and violence but is lightly wounded by some ill-fitting moments.
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80
Village Voice Michelle Orange
To's take on the plight of the modern gangste is inspired.
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75
New York Post V.A. Musetto
Nobody familiar with To will be surprised by the way he presents stylish violence in innovative and humorous ways.
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75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Plenty of films owe a debt to "The Godfather," but it's rare to see inspiration used as successfully as it is here.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
This is an extremely violent movie, with one long gory scene that's particularly hard to stomach. The great majority of Triad Election is about political maneuvering, but when the conversations end, the blood flows mightily.
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75
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
If you're willing to do the work, Triad Election pays you in tragedy.
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70
Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
As in the first movie, To deftly references the "Godfather" trilogy, examining the moral equivocation and shifting alliances among various syndicate members.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Marc K. gave it a5:
Somewhat disappointing. Very stylish, and I can see why it was so widely acclaimed. But in the end, very little soul.

Ken G. gave it a4:
I have to admit, I haven't seen the first movie (Election) that this is a sequel to, and if I had, maybe my view would be different. But a good sequel should be able to stand on it own, and this doesn't. The first half of the movie is slow, very talky, and vague (I had trouble making sense of what was going on, and who everyone was, but again, maybe that would have been different if I had seen the first movie). There is a lot of brutal violence in the second half, to hold your attention, but this comes across more as just a collection of scenes with brutal violence, than it does coherent story telling.

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