Under Hsu's skillful treatment, this realistic portrait of Taiwan, with its gun running, amphetamine use, emigration, gambling, etc., let audiences see, in the words of one critic, "the darkness and despair of youths outside of Taipei, outside the middle class, outside Mandarin (which has higher social status than Taiwanese), outside school, and beyond dreams or heroism."
販賣槍枝、吸食安非他命、移民美國、聚賭… …，台灣現實社會的寫照，在徐小明的處理下，讓觀眾看到「台北以外的、中產階級以外的、國語以外的、學校以外的、夢與英雄以外的少年，對生命的那種無明與決絕」，一位影評人這麼說。