| A successful sequel to both God of Gamblers and All For The Winner but with Chow Yun-Fat out and another Chow in. Namely Stephen Chow and when directed by Wong Jing, thankfully he is still allowed to roam free on the screen. God of Gamblers II negatives are obvious when Wong Jing actually tries to be a storyteller. Routine work really but also sloppy since some characters, including Ng Man Tat, are unwisely ejected form the picture for the longest time without no good explanation. Short but still out of place violence towards Sharla Cheung character further drags Wong's work down.
As expected, much is redeemed since Chow is on fire and continues to build on his brilliant comedic timing with Ng Man Tat and honing his brand of silly comedy that is remarkably consistent and strong this early in his career. The long gambling climax, something Wong does excel at shooting, is suitably structured between Andy Lau's coolness at the tables and Chow's shenanigans around it. A hilarious entry in the gambling gentry that is capped off with some fun acrobatic gunplay and an expected Bruce Lee homage by Chow to boot. Also with Charles Heung, Blackie Ko, Kirk Wong and Shing Fui-On. |
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