Did you people see the same film I saw?

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The good news is that, in director Wong Jing's sequel to his 1989 hit God of Gamblers, Chow Yun Fat does not revert to a childlike state, meaning that viewers don't have to repeat the ordeal of seeing the usually cool star behaving like a drooling retard; the bad news is that, despite more action this time around, the film is just as bad as the first one, relying far too heavily on puerile comedy and dumb magical mumbo-jumbo for its own good.Chow returns as Ko Chun, now retired from gambling and living in France with his pregnant wife; but when wicked criminal/gambler Chao Siu Chi (Hsing-kuo Wu) comes looking for Ko, desperate to prove himself as the number one gambler in the world, Ko's idyllic world comes tumbling down like a house of cards (see what I did there?). Chao Siu Chi kills Ko's wife and unborn child, leaving a very unhappy God of Gamblers swearing revenge.The film starts well enough, with lots of ballistic action as the heavily armed baddies storm Ko's home (although there is a disappointing lack of bloody squibs this time around), followed by a surprisingly nasty demise for our hero's wife (she has her unborn child pulled from her womb). Another early scene on a yacht, where Ko defends a Taiwanese gangster and his family from Chau's men, is also well staged. From this point on, though, it's all downhill…Ko is landed with an irritating child side-kick and, pursued by the police, and stumbles from one terrible comedic situation to the next for what seems like an eternity. After lots of cringe-worthy gags, a spot of political humour (that went right over my head) and some awful nonsense involving a secret agent called Eagle, Ko arrives in Taiwan where he eventually faces Chao Siu Chi in a casino for a supposedly thrilling climax that takes quite a bit of swallowing (the whole thing with the hair attached to the card—WTF?).4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the brief shot of Ko's unborn child in a specimen jar (surprisingly nasty) and the welcome presence of Chingamy Yau as Hoi Tong, the sexy, kick-ass daughter of the Taiwanese crime boss.

As one of the most recognised and coolest actors around, Chow Yun Fat is a master at facial expression, and his presence in such herioc bloodshed films as "A better tomorrow" and the magnificent "Hard Boiled" make him great to watch.In this film, Chow plays the god of gamblers, a sort of card shark who has retired to France with his wife and child to be. Unfortuently a master gambler wants to play Chow in a life-or-death match, and forces him into gambling with him by killing his wife and child to be.Chow goes after the wannabe-god of gamblers with help from various sources and with lots of guns, charm and sophistication that you expect from Chow.Saying goodbye to Hong Kong audiences, Chow gives a masterful performance, espcially in the glossy, expensive gambling ending with a masterful twist that gets you thinking back over the course of the film.Unfortuently the film relies too heavily on Chow and the John Woo, two-gun action and not enough on the other characters. Although there is plenty of comedy to get through the scenes, they feel slow and unmoving.Fortuently towards the end, the characters are welcomed and respected. But the action scenes lack the depth of a John Woo feature nor the danger of Ringo Lam films.Without comparing this film to other movies by other movie directors, this film is quite a good film, but an average movie is nothing more than an average movie.Don't buy the DVD version, as this version, although in widescreen, has very few features.Overall: 5/10.

A high budget sequel to the original, bringing glossy action and locations as well as gambling, chocolate, a gorgeous heroine and occasional slapstick comedy.The scene when Dagger attempts to seduce a woman who believes him to be the God of Gamblers is alone hilarious.With a romantic subplot, great action set-pieces and more stylishly filmed gambling, this film ups the ante on the first in the series, bringing in more magic, treachery and gunfights, with a welcome return from the ever-cool Dragon and a more sinister villain than last time.Do you play the gamble?

Chow was witty, funny and cool as cucumber. His whole charisma shows in this film. Under the jovial mask hides the God of Gambler. Force is just the means to an end, wits is the ultimate deciding factor.