3.5/5 stars
A potentially corny tale involving old-fashioned gangland heroics and an ex-convict fatherโs belated redemption is told with a great deal of nuance and heart in Fight for Tomorrow, a refreshingly uplifting crime drama by Hong Kong writer-director Chan Tai-lee (Tomorrow is Another Day).
In a rare leading role that marks his best performance in years, veteran actor Patrick Tam Yiu-man (Breakout Brothers) leaves a vivid impression as Shek Sam-long, a former mob boss who was once known for his ferocious attitude, but has since lost both his marriage and fortune after several years in prison.
Living alone in a shabby rooftop flat and stuck in a valet parking job with a condescending boss, Sam-longโs dream of starting a bar business of his own and turning his life around seems remote โ especially as the Covid-19 pandemic has wrecked the economy and made it impossible for him to secure a loan.
Then the former โfighterโ finds a renewed focus in his life when, after a foolish scuffle on the street, he is taken to the police station and somehow chances upon his long-estranged son, Shek Tau (Locker Lam Ka-hei, Smashing Frank), or Stone, in the same room.
Sam-long is aghast to find that Stone is charged with criminal damage and that he has no family to bail him out. Worse still, the young man is being pursued by a gang of thugs working for a cocky boxer called David (singer Ying Chi-yuet), and this bully turns out to be the son of one of Sam-longโs old acquaintances.