Wong Jing is a name that usually triggers a specific reaction among cinephiles. You either love his high-octane, often low-brow commercialism, or you roll your eyes at the sheer volume of his output. But something weird happened in 2012. He stopped joking around. He teamed up with cinematographer Andrew Lau and the legendary Chow Yun-fat to create The Last Tycoon 2012, a film that feels less like a modern blockbuster and more like a mourning song for the golden age of Shanghai.
If you’re looking for a simple action flick, you might be disappointed. This isn't Hard Boiled. It’s a sweeping, tragic, and surprisingly sophisticated look at power and the cost of loyalty. Honestly, it’s one of those rare movies where the style actually serves the substance instead of just looking cool for the sake of a trailer.
The Reality of Cheng Daqi and the Real-Life Du Yuesheng
Most people watching The Last Tycoon 2012 don't realize they are watching a thinly veiled biography of one of the most dangerous men in Chinese history. Chow Yun-fat plays Cheng Daqi, but the character is basically Du Yuesheng, the "Big-Eared Du" who ran the Green Gang in Shanghai during the 1920s and 30s.
Du Yuesheng wasn't just a thug. He was a kingmaker. He was the only person who could bridge the gap between the criminal underworld, the French Concession elites, and the Kuomintang government. The film captures this tension beautifully. You see Cheng Daqi rising from a grocery store clerk to a man who literally holds the fate of the city in his hands. It’s a classic "rise and fall" arc, but with a heavy dose of Chinese melodrama that actually works because the stakes are so high.
History tells us the real Du was just as complex. He spent millions on charity while simultaneously controlling the city's opium trade. While the movie leans into the romanticized version of the "noble gangster," it doesn't shy away from the fact that his hands are absolutely filthy. You’ve got to appreciate how the screenplay balances the grit of the docks with the opulence of the opera houses. It’s a stark contrast.
Why the Casting of Huang Xiaoming and Chow Yun-fat Was a Genius Move
Casting two different actors to play the same character at different ages is always a gamble. Usually, it feels disjointed. Here, it’s arguably the film's strongest asset. Huang Xiaoming plays the younger version of Cheng, and he brings this raw, hungry energy to the role. You can see the desperation. He’s a kid who wants to be somebody, but he hasn't yet learned that being "somebody" usually means losing yourself.
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Then, Chow Yun-fat walks onto the screen.
The transition is seamless because Huang actually studied Chow’s mannerisms. The way he holds a cigarette, the slight tilt of the head—it’s all there. But when Chow takes over, the movie shifts gears. He brings a weariness that only a veteran actor of his caliber can manage. By the time we get to the 1930s era of the film, Cheng Daqi is no longer fighting for power; he’s fighting to keep his soul intact while the Japanese occupation threatens to tear everything down.
The Visual Language of a Dying City
Andrew Lau, the man behind the look of Infernal Affairs, handled the cinematography here. It shows. Shanghai in The Last Tycoon 2012 looks like a dream that’s slowly turning into a nightmare. The colors are saturated—deep reds, golden ambers, and cold, metallic greys.
The bombing of Shanghai sequence is a masterclass in scale. It’s loud. It’s chaotic. It’s heartbreaking.
I think the reason this film resonates more than other Shanghai-set period pieces is the attention to the "Old Shanghai" aesthetic. They rebuilt massive sections of the city at the Chedun Film Park. When you see the characters walking down Nanjing Road, it doesn't feel like a cheap green-screen set. It feels lived-in. You smell the smoke. You feel the humidity. The production design by Yee Chung-man is basically a character in itself.
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Addressing the Critics: Is It Too Melodramatic?
Some critics at the time felt the romance subplots were a bit much. Specifically, the relationship between Cheng and the opera singer Ye Zhiqiu, played by Zhang Ziyi (younger) and Yuan Quan (older). Yeah, it’s sentimental. It’s a Hong Kong movie, after all. Sentimentality is the engine that drives the genre.
But if you look closer, the romance isn't just about "love." It’s a metaphor for the life Cheng could have had if he hadn't chosen the path of the triad. Every time he looks at Zhiqiu, he’s looking at a version of himself that stayed "clean." It’s regret personified. Yuan Quan gives a particularly haunting performance as the older Zhiqiu. Her eyes say more in a three-second close-up than most actors manage in a ten-minute monologue.
Basically, the film asks a very difficult question: Can a man who built his empire on violence ever truly deserve peace? The answer the movie provides is pretty bleak, honestly.
The Political Tightrope and the 2012 Context
Releasing a movie about a triad leader in mainland China is a tricky business. Censorship is a real thing. To get The Last Tycoon 2012 through the gates, Wong Jing had to emphasize the patriotic elements. This is why the third act pivots so hard into the anti-Japanese resistance.
While some Western viewers might find the "heroic sacrifice" themes a bit heavy-handed, they are grounded in the historical reality of the era. Many Green Gang members actually did work with the resistance. Some were spies; others were just opportunists who realized that a Japanese-controlled Shanghai was bad for business. By framing the gangster as a patriot, the film managed to satisfy the censors while still telling a gritty crime story. It’s a fascinating bit of industry navigation that most casual viewers completely miss.
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What You Should Take Away From The Film
If you’re going to sit down and watch this, don't go in expecting a history textbook. Go in for the atmosphere.
- Watch the transition: Pay attention to the moment Huang Xiaoming "becomes" Chow Yun-fat. It’s one of the best age-jumps in modern cinema.
- Look at the background: The detail in the French Concession scenes is staggering.
- Listen to the score: Chan Kwong-wing’s music hits all the right emotional beats without being overbearing.
The Last Tycoon 2012 is a reminder that Hong Kong cinema can still produce epics that rival Hollywood in scale and surpass them in heart. It’s about the end of an era—not just for the characters, but for a style of filmmaking that is becoming increasingly rare in the age of CGI-heavy superhero flicks.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you’ve already seen the film and want more, you should check out the 1996 TVB series The Bund, which also stars Chow Yun-fat. It’s the spiritual predecessor to this movie. For a more historically accurate (and much darker) look at the real-life "Tycoon" Du Yuesheng, read The Old Shanghai by Pan Ling. It’ll give you the context of the opium dens and the political assassinations that the movie hints at but doesn't fully explore.
Finally, if you want to see the "other side" of this story, watch Lust, Caution by Ang Lee. It covers the same time period in Shanghai but from a completely different social perspective. Between these two films, you'll get a pretty vivid picture of a city that was once the Paris of the East and a den of iniquity all at once.