God of Gamblers

1989
7.2| 2h6m| en
Details

Ko Chun, an extremely talented and well known gambler. On the eve of a big confrontation with a famous Singaporean gambler, Ko walks into a trap set by Knife, an avid but a so-so gambler, meant for an Indian neighbour. Struck on the head, Ko suffers from amnesia and regresses to a child-like state. Knife takes care of Ko and begins to exploit Ko's gambling talents.

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Reviews

Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch
MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting
Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Paul Magne Haakonsen It is kind of odd that it is only now 23 years after the movie was released that I actually got around to watching it, especially since I am a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema, and "God of Gamblers" is one of the heavy-weighters of Hong Kong cinema. Why? Well when it was released it wasn't easy to get a hand on the VHS copy here in Denmark, and not even when I lived in Hong Kong did I acquire it.So did the movie deliver and live up to my expectations? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it was a very interesting movie and a genre defining one for the time it was made. No, because there was a little bit too much juvenile attempts at incorporating comedy into the movie, which failed miserably.The story in "God of Gamblers" is about gambling savant Ko Chun (played by Chow Yun-Fat) who is known as the God of Gamblers amongst the gambling circuit of Hong Kong. Chun is living the good life, lots of money, fame and everything he could ask for, but it is all taken away one fateful night as he has an accident which leaves him with amnesia. With all memories gone, except for his unprecedented knack for gambling, small time hustler Knife (played by Andy Lau) takes advantage of Chun in order to further his own ambition. With lots at stake, can Chun recover his past and win the all important upcoming gambling event?Actually the story was quite interesting, good and entertaining, however the laughable and juvenile attempts at incorporating comedy into the movie somewhat brought down the overall impression of the movie as a whole. Had director Jing Wong opted to not make use of this inappropriate comedy, the movie would have worked on a whole other level.As for the cast, well of course you know what you get with Chow Yun-Fat, however this movie was fairly early in his career and he hadn't honed his actual acting talent all that much, it is heavier on the action parts (though thankfully later in his career the acting picked up). And opposite him there is Andy Lau with also is one of the major names in Hong Kong cinema."God of Gamblers" proved to be good entertainment (if you look past the comedy parts) and is a definite must have to any DVD collection to fans of Hong Kong cinema everywhere. And having seen this first movie now, I am looking forward to actually getting around to watched the sequel (and perhaps even the spin-offs as well).
ebossert I am a massive fan of East Asian cinema. Having watched over 1,400 such films and having heard of God of Gamblers and reading the IMDb reviews, I was expecting an enjoyable film. In addition, I was excited to see Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau play off of each other.After the opening sequence the viewer will recognize that this film explores wildly unrealistic outcomes for the benefit of entertainment value – and it works for about 20 minutes. At that point this viewer was thoroughly hooked.Afterwards, my enjoyment was severely crippled when Chow's character loses his memory and starts acting like a brainless halfwit. Seriously, he acts like a mentally retarded 5-year-old who likes chocolate. Now don't misunderstand me – I love chocolate too, but to see Chow Yun Fat munching on cocoa bars while acting the imbecile does not qualify as cinematic entertainment. Five minutes after this plot development was introduced, I was praying that Chow would snap out of it very quickly.I apparently should have known better. This stupid plot line drags on for 75 friggin' minutes and single-handedly destroys the entire film. It should not be surprising that the screenplay was written by Jing Wong, who gave us the utterly overrated piece of crap-infested garbage known as Kung Fu Mahjong (2005) and other subpar efforts like Moving Targets (2004), My Schoolmate the Barbarian (2001), The Duel (2000), Naked Killer (1992), as well as other superlative pieces of trash like Naked Weapon (2002) and Her Name Is Cat (1998). His only good script was Casino Raiders (1989), but then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day.The fact is simply that Jing couldn't come up with good material, so he made Chow Yun Fat a certifiable lunatic who does lots of stupid things that have no comedic value whatsoever. It's much easier than coming up with a clever screenplay.I'm truly perplexed at the raving reviews of God of Gamblers here. Does everyone really enjoy seeing Chow Yun Fat act like an annoying retard for 75 minutes? It's simply unbearable.
ballazrus No, not much is missing at all. The movie has great actors performing great all around whether it is comedy or action. The action wasn't much emphasized as in rather friendship, but when the action does kick in, it brings you to the same level as John Woo's bullet exchange, and heck, even Dragon (the bodyguard) knows some kick ass moves when he fights. I did not expect much of this movie at first knowing it wasn't john woo who directed it, but after just the first 5 min i was totally into the movie and had forgotten who directed the movie, because it was equally great, and i couldn't ask for moreget this movie! i can't wait til i get my hands on it's sequels
Pornstar_Zen This is an amazing all round film containing just the right amounts of comedy, drama and gunplay.Although the Uk edition of VHS suffers terrible subtitling it is still a must see.