Background
The celebrated director of such films as
Duel to the Death, A Chinese Ghost Story, and Swordsman
II does not seem like the obvious choice to direct the latest
"conman" movie. I may be missing something, but I don't
see any crossover behind the oeuvre of director Ching Siu-Tung and
low-brow genius producer Wong Jing, but here they are, collaborating
together on a movie without a credited screenwriter.
The film opened theatrically in Hong Kong in
October 2000.
Foreground
Nick Cheung Ka Fai aspires to be a great
gambler. He appears to have reached the pinnacle of his profession
after winning a pool match against his top competition -- the jazzy
editing as well as the mocking song he and his friends sing help set the
tone for this silly movie. He jets off to Japan on a shopping trip with
his girlfriend (Christy Chung Lai-Tai). They end up in a restaurant
where they encounter the owner (Louis Koo Tin Lok), who deftly defends
himself against local gangsters. It turns out that the owner is a
legendary gambler who retired after losing his girlfriend (Athena Chu Yun)
to his former partner (Ben Lam Kwok Bun).
The plot is easier to follow than to
write about -- despite the fact that no writer was credited -- and really
just serves as an excuse for some goofy Wong Jing comedy and some nifty
"flying cards" tricks. All the performers are adequate to
the roles they play, and director Ching Siu-Tung keeps the action rolling
along, no matter how improbable it sometimes appears -- just watch the
concluding action set on a moored aircraft carrier for inspired
insanity. My only real criticism is that the film runs a bit long at
103 minutes and could have lost at least a couple of scenes.
The film is rated Category IIB.
Most of the violence is implicit with several big splatters of blood; only
a couple of brief moments of explicit violence are depicted.
DVD: look, sound, and features
This is the first DVD released by
Deltamac that I have seen, and this letterboxed (1.85 to 1 ratio)
presentation is a fine recommendation for the company. (Deltamac has
only six other titles listed in the Asian
DVD Guide, among them Fly Me to Polaris and Sausalito.)
The fleshtones are natural if a touch saturated, the
black levels are deep, and the colors are bright and vibrant.
Dolby Digital 5.1 Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are provided.
I listened to the Cantonese 5.1 track and it sounded excellent, with
distinct channel separation and frequent use of surround channels,
resulting in a wide and deep sound field.
Traditional and simplified
Chinese removable subtitles are provided in addition to English; the English titles
are large and white with black backing. A number of grammar and
translation errors are noticeable.
The disk is divided into 8 chapters. The
menu is offered in Chinese only and so is a bit challenging for
non-Chinese readers to navigate.
Buy, rent, or pass?
Rent. My opinion of this film
might be different if I had seen any of the previous Wong Jing-produced
"gambler" and "conman" series, but I thoroughly
enjoyed the proceedings and recommend it for a pleasant diversion.
(Reviewed 1/29/01)
