The Last Tycoon - 大上海

The Last Tycoon (大上海) is an 2012 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Chow Yun-Fat, Sammo Hung, Francis Ng, and Huang Xiaoming. The gals in the film include Yuan Quan, Monica Mok, Tong Fei, Yuan Li, and Feng Wenjuan. The movie is based on the high life of Shanghai-ers from the fall of the Qing Dynasty to its occupation by the Japanese.



Chow is the man in charge in Shanghai, outside of the military, no one else has more influence. We flashback to his country bumpkin days played by Huang Xiaoming. We also see that he has a crush on his neighbor sweetheart who will end up as one of the most famous opera performers in Zhong Guo. We see the tycoon, how he earned his strips and how he maintains his power. Along the way, there are women that enter their lives and it comes to a hedge on the heels of the Japanese's war into the Shanghai area.



This movie was long and sort of boring. It's like a drama of how Chow's character of Cheng Daqi rise to power from country bumpkin to the most powerful man in Shanghai. A Godfather take if you will. However, the women in the movie take up a lot of time, but you need the eye candy is my guess. Or its the presentation that the men are there due to their influence. Why try to be the most powerful man in Shanghai? Because you want to become so powerful that you can protect your woman?

Movie wise, it was well made. But the story lacked the heart that made me care for the individuals.