Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997)

Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 is the kind of crime film that feels like it’s grinning as it pulls the rug out from under you—an action-comedy with a genuinely clever, unusual structure that turns one man’s choice into a darkly playful meditation on fate. Wai Ka-Fai stages the mayhem with a quirky, restless energy, letting the violence land with bite while still finding room for irony and weird little human moments. Sean Lau anchors it all with a scrappy, believable desperation, making you care about a small-time triad who keeps trying to outrun the consequences of his own life. It’s not for viewers who want a straightforward gangster saga, but if you’re in the mood for something original that zigzags between laughs and brutality, this one sticks in your head.

Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 is clearly trying to mash up triad crime, dark comedy, and a sliding-doors “one choice, two lives” structure, and you can feel Wai Ka-Fai aiming for a punchy, fate-vs-identity thriller. The problem is that the tonal shifts can be jarring—one minute it wants you to laugh at the absurdity, the next it leans into brutal misfortune—so if you like your action-crime stories consistent and grounded, this may test your patience. It also plays more like a concept-driven ride than a deeply emotional character study, which can make the stakes feel oddly distant even when things get nasty. Still, if you enjoy Hong Kong genre films that take risks, embrace irony, and don’t mind a grim streak under the jokes, Sean Lau and Francis Ng bring enough edge to make it worth a look.