Movie Review: God of Gamblers/赌神

God of Gamblers/赌神 is a classic 1989 Wong Jing film starring Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, and Joey Wong.

Chow Yun Fat plays Ko Chun, the God of Gamblers.

He’s the greatest gambler in the world.

And he loves chocolate.

And he looks good.

What a suave motherf@#$er.

Andy Lau plays Knife, a young man whose dreams of a grand future are grounded in something other than reality.

But at least he has dreams, right?

Soon after taking an assignment to defeat an evil gambler, Ko Chun suffers a head injury.

And catches amnesia.

Better be careful… you can get Alzheimer’s from amnesia. Just ask Barbara Wong.

He reverts to nearly childlike intelligence, becoming almost totally dependent on Andy Lau and Joey Wong.

They provide him with chocolate and he provides them a tidy income through his gambling prowess, which neither he nor they can understand, much less explain.

See? Dreams really do come true!

Will Ko Chun regain his memory and retain his title as God of Gamblers?

Whadda you think?

Like a lot of movies, the destination in God of Gamblers takes a distant second to the journey itself.

Like all of Wong Jing’s best movies, God of Gamblers plays fast and loose with logic and reality.

The God of Gamblers can change cards with his mind.

So he’s never really gambling, is he?

But who would want to watch God of Cheaters/神騙子?

A scene begins in a brothel in Mongkok; the bad guys show up, initiating a chase.

The good guys leave by the back door (that’s not a euphemism), which leads magically to a parking garage in Lek Yuen estate.

In Sha Tin, in the New Territories!

But so what?

God of Gamblers/赌神 is Wong Jing at his frenetic best.

There’s blood, chocolate, violence, comedy, guns, and drama.

There are homages/parodies of The Untouchables and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

There’s a Wong Jing cameo, in a brothel.

“Did you bring the batteries?!?”

There’s Chow Yun Fat with two pistols.

God of Guns.

There’s a lot of overstatement, but there’s also a sense of momentum and smoothness and confidence.

Chow Yun Fat carries on the super-gambler tradition of Patrick Tse Yin, providing a kind of Hong Kong equivalent of James Bond; always smooth, always suave, and always in control.

Wong Jing obviously plays with the trope by introducing amnesia, but it serves only to make Ko Chun that much more dashing.

Chow Yun Fat may chew up the occasional scene as his amnesiac self, but it really only makes the God of Gamblers that much cooler when he reverts to form.

The slicked back hair, the absolute confidence, and that million dollar smile have made God of Gamblers a classic.

It also helps that Chinese people like gambling the way fish like water.

Looking at it now, almost 25 years later, it makes you realize how much the city and its movies have changed.

God of Gamblers/赌神 is a timeless local classic that doesn’t get older.

It just gets better.

I’m really looking forward to From Vegas to Macau/賭城風雲.

Aren’t you?