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The ultra classic flick of the late eighties that launched a long-running series. Chow Yun-Fat stars in one of
his most famous roles as legendary professional
gambler Ko Chun, who’s dubbed the “God of Gamblers”
because of his insane ability to beat the odds at
the gambling arts. This includes counting cards, hearing
dice, psychological intimidation and outright chicanery.
All bets are off, as long as Ko Chun comes up roses.
Unfortunately Ko Chun
gets brain damage when he falls into a juvenile trap
set up by two-bit gambler Knife (Andy Lau), who was
trying to set up an Indian guy he can’t stand. Ko
Chun ends up reverting to a child-like state where
he can only be pacified by chocolate. No kidding.
Then he helps out Knife and his girl (Joey Wong) by
earning him a bundle. However, Ko Chun’s enemies want
to do him in and will stop at nothing to gain their
revenge, even if it means offing someone who’s obviously
not all there.
Chow’s performance is a combination
of his John Woo characters and Dustin Hoffman’s from
Rain Man, and he was nominated for Best Actor
for his efforts (but he lost to himself in All
About Ah-Long). Filled with tons of wackiness
and even some two-gun action, this is a fun flick,
but it's also really typical of Hong Kong and its
director Wong Jing. (Kozo 1995) |
