Mad Wai (Bryan Leung) is a former triad member who has retired from the underworld to raise his daughter after his wife died.

When rival triad Jiaxi Lan (Wong Chun), who led a gang in Chinatown, Manhattan, decides to take over territories in East Tsim Sha Tsui belonging to Wai's former boss Han (Shih Kien), Lan manipulates Han's cowardly underling Rotten Chi (Shum Wai) to betray and kill his boss.

Jean Lukitush of Kung Fu Cinema Archived 14 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine rated the film three and half stars out of five and gave a positive review praising its brutal and realistic action scenes and the performance of the cast.

[1] Paul Taggart of Far East Films rated the three out of five stars and writes "Hong Kong Godfather keeps it straight and simple, offering bloody thrills with a cast and crew honed on kung fu movies smashing their way into the gangster arena.

"[2] On the other hand, Roy Hrab of DVD Verdict gave the film a mixed review and writes "Gratuitous nudity, extreme violence, plentiful bloodletting, cheesy sets, even cheesier fashion, discount special effects, and lousy acting; it's all on display in Hong Kong Godfather, a Shaw Brothers production that makes for a fairly entertaining distraction.