I know I know, I should have seen this years ago. I love Hong Kong movies, and have a huge Hong Kong movie collection, and yet I had never seen Wong Jing’s GOD OF GAMBLERS. This is the movie that started the whole gambling genre (well at least the gambling film craze in Hong Kong. The Zatoichi films are all about gambling, with dice, and the ears twitching to hear the dice), with the super cool Chow Yun Fat as the aforementioned God. This movie is silly fun, with some good action, and gambling action as well. Certainly a must see. And this new Mei Ah DVD is gorgeous and anamorphic-ally enhanced.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Chow Yun Fat is the God of Gamblers, the ultimate gambling machine. He can’t be beat, and is hired to beat one of the richest men, who often cheats, but before he can he falls into a trap set by Knife (Andy Lau), which knocks him on the head and gives him amnesia. Chow Yun Fat is left with all of his skills, but the brain of a child, and a love for expensive chocolate. Knife, his follower and his girlfriend Joey Wang take him in, but don’t manage to make money off of his skills. Eventually his old assistant locates him and comes with men of the bad guy to kill him. Chow Yun Fat is hit in the head more times, and his memory returns, but not of his assistant trying to kill him, or that he killed Chow’s girlfriend. Chow plays the final game, the bad guys thinking they have him with marked cards, and lenses, but Chow has contacts on and has doctored his own cards, and won, and the bad guy is taken to jail for murdering Chow’s assistant. And Chow joins up with Knife to be his partner.

This movie is really fun. I am excited to see the next one (though there are so many of them, who knows which one it is, though I am talking the one with Chow Yun Fat).

I would like to thank Jeff Briggs for lending this to me! Thank you!