Hsiang Rong (David Chiang) is a young man whose life is put on hold after his father tragically dies in a truck accident. He has no choice but to look for work in order to keep his family alive. He seems angrier rather than sad, being caught in his current situation and starts to develop hatred and disrespect towards people around him. As it turns out, his best friend Gen Lai (Ti Lung) manages to secure him a job as a delivery boy in a small grocery shop but with less pay and long hours. On top of that, he has to put up with his mean boss who always scolds him and slaps him around, and this only builds up more frustrations and rage.
Moreover, Hsiang Rong is rather negligent himself; he sometimes skips work in-between deliveries to catch up with friends and he shoplifts. At times during his delivery runs, he stumbles upon thugs who rob him and beat him up. There's a regular girl customer whom he fancies and he always gives her extra portion but their romance never takes root. However, he's royal to his own sister and his aging mother and treats them well. In the mean time, Gen Lai has joined the police force while Hsiang Rong's future is at a dead end with a low paid job that has no prospect. During this time, he starts learning martial arts and within a year, he becomes the top student. But his teacher can see that he's only expressing his rage through kung fu and has no respect for others, and accordingly, he expels him.
One day, while delivering goods to a crime boss Tou Cheng's (Lu Dik) mansion, Hsiang Rong gets into a fight with the bodyguards, and impressed by his skills, Tou Cheng offers him big money as one of his top men. As money starts pouring in and unbeknownst to his family, he now embarks upon a new life as a criminal. Before long, he will cross path with his policeman friend.
“The Young Rebel” is Ti Lung's second and last outing as a director. It was distributed by Shaw Brothers but made with Chang Cheh's company and the production values look high. Besides showing a good flare in story telling, Ti Lung also has a small role as the kind and helpful Gen Lai, the opposite of his angry friend Hsiang Rong, played by David Chiang. The introduction of kung fu in this movie functions as a treat for viewers to witness his amazing fighting skills. However, most of the action is of the hand-to-hand street fight variety, simple but very well-choreographed by Lau Kar Wing, Chan Chuen and Hwang Pei Chih nonetheless.
Interestingly, Simon Yuen Siu Tien, who plays the martial arts teacher, would later on, gain much success with Jackie Chan in “Drunken Master”. There're other well-known masters like Eddy Ko and Lee Hoi San who play boss Tou's henchmen, and all of them have a decent fight time on screen near the end. Elsewhere, Sammo Hung also can be seen running an illegal back street gambling stall.
Without a doubt, this's a David Chiang's movie; in which he excels portraying an angry young man that progresses from being a pushover to a master at his own game. He handles the different mood swings with ease and shows competent in his fight scenes. There's even a bicycle chase where he takes us through the back street of suburban Hong Kong of the mid-70s.
Overall, this is an average youth drama with a strong moral message throughout. However, it's sophisticated and artistically filmed by Ti Lung with good intention in mind.
