Sorry, Frank Sinatra fans – “I Did It My Way” is not the biopic of the great singer. Instead, it is director Jason Kwan’s second solo cinematic outing, after his 2017 debut with “A Nail Clippers Romance”.

With a cast as star-studded as this one, you might hope to be in for an entertaining duel between cops and robbers. Sadly, this is not the case.

The film’s first act opens with police superintendent Eddie Fong (Eddie Peng) setting up a raid that would finally nab Hong Kong drug lord Chan Chiu-sang (Philip Keung).

For many years now, Chan, also known as “the Boss”, has been escaping the clutches of the law, courtesy of his lawyer George Lam (Andy Lau) and enforcer Sau Ho (Lam Ka-tung).

But not everything is as it seems: several plot twists later reveal that Lam and Sau Ho are not who they pretend to be.

With the police raid set up in the first act, expectations are high for an action-packed sequence with plenty of thrills.

Unfortunately,  Kwan seems to have forgotten that a major rule of a good fight scene is to keep the audience in the know.

As soon as bullets start flying, good camerawork goes out the window, as does good editing. You might be overdoing it with fifteen cuts every 30 seconds, Mr Kwan.

Cinematography is one of the many stumbling blocks here, with poorly lit scenes making it next to impossible to discern what is happening on screen.

The plot is hardly any better, with the story racing so fast that it barely leaves any time for the audience to catch up, much less digest it.

Confounding matters are the many inexplicable decisions made by the characters which may leave you scratching your head.

Lau’s character Lam is a key example of this: he botches a deal with an infamous South American drug cartel for no good reason. Consequently, during his beachside wedding in Malaysia (!), heavily armed mercenaries show up to gun down everyone.

You would think Malaysia’s police force would be able to handle this situation unaided by outside forces, but Eddie and his posse show up anyway.

And despite the situation being entirely his fault, Lam blames the death of his pregnant fiancée (Cya Liu) on the cops instead. Why? Well, drama, of course.

Honestly, if the film had instead focused on the conflicts faced by Lam and Sau Ho, “I Did It My Way” could have been more palatable.

On one hand, you have Lam who wants to rule Hong Kong’s underworld and start a family, while Sau Ho is tormented by his actions and wants to emigrate with his family.

Two opposing characters with separate goals, and with different challenges to face. Doesn’t that sound mildly interesting at least?

As to be expected of a Heavenly King of Hong Kong, Lau – last seen in “The Goldfinger” – delivers a performance that is one of the few saving graces of the movie.

He is a character actor and, indeed, despite the faulty script and plot, he expertly plays the role of a criminal who knows the cops cannot lay a finger on him just yet.

In one scene, Sau Ho, a brute in his physique, stumbles across a secret. Barely breaking a sweat, Lau’s Lam politely and chillingly warns him about his error. No doubts about the man’s talent, for sure.

The same can be said for Lam Ka-tung, though questions abound about his character’s motivation, with his many contradicting actions.

Oh, and if you are familiar with how the internet and computers work, it’s best to regard this film as a comedy then. The film’s depiction of digital shenanigans might have worked in the 1980s, but it does not in the 2020s.

In any case, the fact that the movie has so many stars works against it, as you might be tempted to watch older, better-made Hong Kong films instead.

As of press time, ‘I Did It My Way’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.