Experienced cinematographer Jason Kwan’s second solo outing as a director (he co-directed both of the Chasing The Dragon films as well) is a hodgepodge of Hong Kong crime cinema cliches and tropes, laughingly entitled I Did It My Way. There is nothing here that hasn’t been seen before that previous films have done way more effectively and coherently. The film also features the most sporadic editing perhaps in the history of film. There isn’t a single edit that lasts longer than 30 seconds in the entire film, even in the so-called dramatic sequences.

The film opens with the takedown of Chan Chui-sang (Phillip Keung), nicknamed “The Boss”, by the cybercrimes unit of the Hong Kong police under the supervision of Chung Kam-ming (Simon Yam). Chan’s men include enigmatic lawyer George Lam (Andy Lau) and their mercenary Sau Ho (Lam Ka-tung). Both race against the clock to bury loose ends and evidence as  Chunng and Police Superintendent Eddie Fong (Eddie Peng) arrest Chan. But soon it’s revealed that Chan Chui-sang was never the boss to begin with, and Sau Ho may not be exactly who he says either. The film then proceeds to twist and turn through a hard to decipher middle portion that runs way too long but does feature the film’s only good fight scene. It then arrives at a mind bogglingly ludicrous and jaw droppingly bad finale that almost has to be seen to be believed, but not quite.

I Did It My Way really, really wants to be Infernal Affairs. It’s very evident that amongst all the films this letdown aims to replicate, Infernal Affairs ranks very high on this list. And despite an excellent cast that mostly seems to be trying to deliver good work here, Yam excluded as he clearly looks to be phoning this one in, the script is so woefully bad they have nowhere to go. 

The film even manages to waste the work of amazing character actor Suet Lam, reducing his role to a glorified cameo with a storyline that could have come from an American soap opera. But nothing tops the insanely stupid role that Mike Leeder is forced to endure asJavier, the Columbian supplier (I guess, they never really clarify). It’s a put-upon accent and portrayal that’s straight out of a cheesy bad ’80s/’90s action film from the Schwarzenegger/ Stallone/ Norris canon and borders on being outright racist.

Speaking of cheesy ’90s films, the last thing I expected out of the “cybercrime” aspect of this film was an updated take on Hackers visual style and interpretation of the internet, but that’s exactly what we get here. If this were in a better film, it would actually be pretty endearing, but for a film that’s trying to purport itself as a serious thriller, it sticks out like a sore thumb. But once the massive shoot out at a wedding that only manages to mark the halfway point of the film occurs, we know this film is just spiralling out of control. And the GCI dying premature baby to the final Thelma and Louise-ing off a cliff into a house that marks the final act prove that to bear.

The only thing I Did It My Way manages to accomplish through all of its insanity is the ability to garner its cast a paycheck. In a Hong Kong cinema scene where too many films now come in cookie cutter fashion, I Did It My Way is exceptionally lazy and uninspired filmmaking. And if this review had been edited like this film was, there would have been well over 50 jump cuts that landed you here at the end. But the only jump you should do is the one to jump to a different theatre.