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GOD
OF GAMBLERS 2
AKA:
God Of Gamblers II ||
Knight Of Gamblers || All For The Winner 2
Year:
1990 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Ko
Chun's good friend, Little Knife (Lau), has had a year to
learn the art of gambling from his mentor and is now making a
name for himself as the "Knight of Gamblers".
Sadly, under the terms of his teaching he is only able to keep
5% of all that he wins and must donate the remainder to
charity. When Sing (Chow) appears on his doorstep
claiming to have mystical powers he sees a chance to use this
hapless idiot for his own gain. However, they both have
bigger problems in the form of the foster son of Mr. Chan (the
original foe of the God Of Gamblers) who vows revenge and
realises that he can tarnish the reputation of the God Of
Gamblers by humiliating his student. It's up to Knife
and Sing to make sure that their gambling credentials remains
intact.
Andy
Lau was the only star that returned for this sequel to 'God Of
Gamblers' and also ironically about the only real similarity between the two
films. The emphasis here shifts to the comedy elements
with Chow Sing Chi entering the fray (mainly due to his superb
spoof of 'God Of Gamblers' in 'All
For The Winner'), resulting in him stealing the spotlight.
The early sparks of the magic to come from Chow mean this film
will be better remembered as his introduction to the big time
instead of a respected part of the series. Luckily, the
mix of great jokes and a decent chemistry between Chow and Lau
make this a film which is still worth watching.
The
gambling scenes obviously remain and, at this point in the
"Gamblers" timeline, still retained a refreshing
innocence about them that keep them exciting. A few
short fights are thrown in to give the film more width and Lau
gets to display his mediocre martial artistry whilst Chow also
gets in on the action by using a pair of plungers like
nunchuks. Returning in his "tough as nails"
bodyguard role is Charles Heung, who adds the most impressive
and realistic combat through a combination of his fists and
gunplay.
Despite
a few minor connections and a couple of returning actors, this
film was never going to live up to the reputation that ensued
from the original. Without Yun Fat there was little
chance of recreating such stunning performances but by using
Chow Sing Chi we are treated to some comic moments of genius.
Sadly, the attempts to cash-in from the original are what
spoil it and if Jing had chosen to make an unconnected
adventure it could have been more enjoyable. It remains
a good stand alone comedy affair but should not be watched by
fans of the original expecting more of the same.
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