Story of Kennedy Town

Three poor friends in a cramped, tough neighborhood seek a way out and sign up with the police, hoping the badge might unlock a cleaner life. Chuang Peng, Kao Tieng Chiang and Li Shao Wei train together, sharing jokes and risk as they bond over meager meals and long nights. From the start, the city tests their loyalty with temptations, street hustles, and secret suits of armor that can shield a family or break it apart. As they adjust to a disciplined routine, the pressure of poverty and danger gnaws at their camaraderie, revealing cracks nobody saw coming. When greed seeps into the picture, the trio finds their friendship pushed toward a breaking point. The choices they face redefine everything.

Directed by Wu Ma and released in 1990, Story of Kennedy Town pairs action with a tense moral thread. The screenplay draws on ideas by Wai Woh Chong-jok Jo, anchoring the film with a cast led by Waise Lee Chi-Hung.

Box office data for this movie isn't publicly available, and there are no reported numbers to gauge its commercial performance. The title remains a footnote in discussions of its era within Hong Kong cinema for fans of crime cinema worldwide.

Within its era, the film sits among Hong Kong crime romance dramas that mix street grit with affection. While not a mainstream blockbuster, it features a roster of actors who would help shape the genre, including Waise Lee Chi-Hung and Aaron Kwok, giving it remembered edge among Wu Ma's projects.

Critics note the film centers on friendship under pressure and the moral costs that come with ambition. It blends brisk action with romantic threads and uses its urban setting to question loyalty, temptation, and the limits of right and wrong when dreams collide with hard realities for better and worse.