Once a Gangster
2010 1h 35m movie Film Hong Kong

Once a Gangster

飛砂風中轉

Synopsis

飛砂風中轉

Roast Pork joins the triad as a young man and ends up becoming a trusted lieutenant of boss Kerosene. However, his true passion is in his successful chain of restaurants, his loving wife, and his two children. So when Kerosene wants to promote his trusted right hand man to the top of the organization as a way to take on his financial debts, it's understandable why Roast Pork would want to refuse. Roast Pork comes up with an intricate scheme with his men that would take himself out of the running, but Kerosene's intervention causes it to fail. When all hopes appears to be lost, lifelong gangster Sparrow is released from jail after serving a 20-year sentence for committing a gang-related murder that earned him a guarantee for the leader spot. However, Sparrow has made his own plans to stay out of the gang, setting off a battle of wits between the two men.

Other Titles From Media Asia Films

Action + Comedy in Hong Kong

150 Hong Kong titles in our catalog blend the Action and Comedy genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Once a Gangster itself).

The 2009–2011 Hong Kong Window

Once a Gangster holds position #21 of 58 Hong Kong films in the 2009–2011 window, below highlighted by audience rating.

  1. How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?
    #1

    How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?

    ★ 7.6 · 2010
  2. Echoes of the Rainbow
    #2

    Echoes of the Rainbow

    ★ 7.4 · 2010
  3. Night and Fog
    #3

    Night and Fog

    ★ 7.2 · 2009
  4. The Ditch
    #4

    The Ditch

    ★ 7.1 · 2010
  5. Bruce Lee, My Brother
    #5

    Bruce Lee, My Brother

    ★ 7.0 · 2010
  6. Love in a Puff
    #6

    Love in a Puff

    ★ 7.0 · 2010
  7. Fire of Conscience
    #7

    Fire of Conscience

    ★ 7.0 · 2010
  8. Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
    #8

    Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

    ★ 6.9 · 2010

The 2010s Hong Kong Landscape

2010 was the decade’s peak output year for Hong Kong — 28 titles released, including Once a Gangster. Bars below show how the 2010s stacked up year by year (166 total).

'1028'1112'1217'1318'1415'1523'1619'1715'1811'198

Position in Catalog

Released alongside 27 other Hong Kong films in 2010.

The 658th Hong Kong title from Hong Kong we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1955).

Our Hong Kong catalog contains 836 titles in total (828 films).

Audience Engagement

27
Reviews
53rd
Review-volume percentile
30th
Popularity percentile

27 audience reviews — more than 53% of Hong Kong films in our index.

Review volume (53th percentile) outruns trending popularity (30th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.

Reception Benchmarks

6.3
TMDB Rating
27
Audience Reviews
Well Received
Critical Tier

Ranked #430 of 836 Hong Kong films indexed here (49th percentile by TMDB audience score).

Among Hong Kong Action productions specifically: #285 of 516 (top 55%).

Production Details

Primary CountryHong Kong
Original LanguageCantonese
Production CompaniesMedia Asia Films, Pop Movies
Runtime1h 35m
Release DateMay 20, 2010
IMDbtt1611840
Official Sitewww.mediaasia.com