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Starring
:
Yung
Wang Yu
Patrick
Tse
Chen
Kwan-Tai
Chan
Hui Man
Natalis
Chan
Robert
Mak
Wong
Jing
Lo
Lieh
Director
:
Wong
Jing
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WINNER
TAKES ALL (1982)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
'Winner
Takes All' is a perfect example of the two sides of Wong
Jing's cinematic personality: on the good side we have an
admirable imagination that throws endless intriguing ideas
onto the screen; the bad, and unfortunately more common side
shows his lack of restraint and his needless foray into
low-brow humour and plunder of other films. With Jing making
this film under the Shaw Brothers' banner, the resulting
effort was always likely to be an interesting experience.
A
series of well-organised, but ruthless robberies are committed
throughout the city and one name is immediately connected to
it: superthief Shi Ka Lok (Tse). However, Shi has turned his
back on a life of crime and uses his sublime skills to test
security systems for wealthy clients. The police try to
connect Shi to the robberies as does ambitious junior
detective Kwan (Yung Wang Yu) who sees the chance to capture
the suave thief as a way out of his office drudgery. However,
the real brains behind the crimes is mysterious Japanese
businessman Mr. Miyamoto who secretly bares a grudge against
Shi Ka Lok. While Kwan finds his plans foiled, he begins to
discover that his target may actually be innocent and that the
only way of finding the real villain is with Shi's help.
Borrowing
heavily from the fun, gadget-driven caper classic 'Aces
Go Places'. 'Winner Takes All' is the Shaw Brothers'
answer to the monstrous success of Cinema City's output at the
time. Utilising the sheer energy of its inspiration, there's
also an attempt to combine it together with the popularised
gambling antics of 'Challenge Of The Gamesters'. While, at its
best, 'Winner Takes All' takes these elements and creates a
heady blend, there are obvious chasms in the general
consistency that harms the overall mark. First of all though,
the positives...
Love
him or loathe him but when Wong Jing's imagination is on song
then the screen is ablaze with invention and outrageous
choreography. 'Winner Takes All' has enough moments of genuine
excitement to keep the weary viewer going through the less
active moments; from mahjong playing robots to a wacky double
yoyo vs. double nunchuka battle, there's a great deal to
applaud here. Using the insane mahjong contortions and moves
that he would later bring to 'God
Of Gamblers', Jing makes these potentially uninvolving
scenes watchable. 'Winner Takes All' has a cast of faces from
the plethora of Shaw Brothers' genres and eras - Yung Wang Yu
plays his role with the swagger of Fu Sheng, while Patrick Tse
has a suave air that pre-dates the explosion of Chow Yun Fat's
persona. Such a varied cast helps inject some plausibility
into a potentially ludicrous storyline.
Unfortunately,
just as you find yourself warming to his style, Wong Jing
falls prey to the failings that would long be associated with
him. 'Winner Takes All' has memorable moments, but drifts away
from the main premise and gets stranded in needless farce
routines. Sucking the excitement from the narrative, such
awkward interruptions only highlight Jing's lack of control in
the director's chair. There's also the obligatory humour that
mostly annoys; though there's some moments of mirth here,
there's far too many corny, infantile and sub-'Carry On' jokes
to make this an easy ride. It's a crying shame that the scenes
of real promise are juxtaposed with the usual Jing-isms.
Though
it tries to emulate the overall magnetism of 'Aces Go Places',
'Winner Takes All' is left wanting. Whereas 'Aces...' managed
to combine sharp humour with a plot that, while far-fetched,
worked very well, Wong Jing's efforts simply cannot match
these qualities. Therefore, while its certainly a worthy
purchase for anyone seeking something a little different, its
by no means essential viewing.
Rating:
 
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