In modern-day Hong Kong, Leung King-cheung received a job from his real estate company to handle a dispute in a village in the New Territories. Leung arrives and meets with two old martial artists, Tiger and Dragon, who are being bullied by the young Chung Sang-mang and his crew. Chung wants Dragon and Tiger to sell their lease on a tea house which was used as a training dojo by their comatose master Law San. When Law suddenly wakes up from his 30-year coma, he is determined to restart his school by taking on Chung and his master Pong Ching.
Production
Gallants is the directoral debut of Clement Cheng and the third film for his friend director Derek Kwok, as well as a production debut of actor Gordon Lam. The film is produced by Andy Lau's Focus Films, with Lau also serving as executive producer. Gallants was originally conceived as being about a musical group in the 1960s and 1970s. One member suffers a stroke and begins to realise he has not done anything of importance in his life. Feeling that he may die soon, his last wish is to go back to his youth, find all his friends, and do one final show. Finding it difficult to sell the story about musicians, the writers changed the theme of the plot to being about kung fu masters instead. For the cast, Cheng and Kwok felt that if they could not get the actors Chen Kuan-tai and Bruce Leung, they would not make the film. Gallants was shot in 18 days.
Variety praised the actors in Gallants, noting the charisma of Bruce Leung and Chen Kuan-tai while saying that Teddy Robin "steals the show". Film Business Asia gave Gallants a 6 out of 10 rating, calling it a "Likable but over-loose tribute to Hong Kong martial arts films of the '60s and '70s." The Independent Film Channel gave the film a positive review, noting "This could have been an exercise in cheap nostalgia, and it's not. Taken entirely on its own, it's a wholly entertaining and touching movie about friendship and growing old." The Montreal Gazette gave the film three and a half stars, praising the comedic skills of Bruce Leung and Chen Kuan-tai, stating that Gallant "has plenty of successful gags, if a few that seem a bit too suited for Nickelodeon at prime-time." Now magazine gave the film a four out of five rating, calling it a "very entertaining salute to old legends" comparing the film to Kung Fu Hustle. Gallants won the awards for best film and best actor at the 17th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. On The 30th Hong Kong Film Awards, held on 17 April 2011, low-budget 'Gallants' won the prestigious 'best movie' award.
