A Masterpiece!

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I personally have never seen any of the prior God of Gambling features, as none of them were ever released in my country. For this, I apologize that my review will not be contrasting this particular film with any of its predecessors. If you are a renown fan of the franchise, perhaps you best skip my review. However, like me, if this was your first foray into this series, then please read on if that be your prerogative.The Man From Macau, otherwise known as From Vegas to Macau, includes no scenes from America's city of sin, despite it been mentioned on more than one occasion. Ken Magic Hand (Chow Yun-Fat) has only recently arrived back in Macau, though it is a while before the film's lead protagonist makes an entrance.The movie opens with a focus on a group of people known as the Robin Hood's of underworld crime, and rather than pocketing the cash, the money goes to charities and other like organizations. Benz (Shiu Hung Hui) is not only the group's leader, but the father of Cool (Nicholas Tse), whose cousin Karl (Chapman To) is also involved.Cool's stepbrother Lionel (Philip Ng) secretly placed as an undercover, works alongside Detective Luo Xin (Tian Jing), whose initial introduction reveals her to be employed in a similarly undercover position as the assistant of Ko (Hugh Gao), the head of international money laundering syndicate DOA.When Ko realizes that Lionel has evidence that can bring down his organization, he will stop at nothing to get it back, even if that means going after his family to get it. Ken inevitably finds himself involved, Ko's love of playing cards forbidding him from resisting the urge to compete against such talented opposition.Mr. Yun-Fat appears to have a lot of fun in his role, and who wouldn't? The over exaggerated antics, from his unique skills, precise combat methods and over acted expressions make for good entertainment. The film is not designed to be taken seriously, which is not only heightened by the slapstick humor, but through what is incorporated into the story - undetectable lotion that hinders muscular action, a serum that forces anyone under its spell to tell the truth, and lunatic security defenses that employ lasers, crossbows and cannons. Basically, a fair amount of suspended disbelief is required.The banter between Cool and Karl is relatively effective, Mr. To's comedic attitude been quite likable. Mr. Tse on the other hand spends most of the film exhibiting what can only be described as a rather neutral performance, as though he is unsure of the emotions his character ought to portray. Not only this, the peculiar relationship he has with Ken's daughter Rainbow (Kimmy Tong) is largely underdeveloped. Despite Rainbow's advances, and Ken's attempts to turn both of them into a couple, if Mr. Tse chose to appear any more bored, he would have spent these particular segments of the film fast asleep. For those who appreciated Mr. Tse in the Stool Pigeon, Viral Factor, and other like roles, don't expect the same level of excitement here.Both Mr. Hui and Mr. Ng have small, under-appreciated roles, but it is Ms. Jing who is perhaps most neglected of all. Although provided with a number of scenes, the competency Ms. Jing displays when originally seen by the viewer is overshadowed by the often girlish role she is forced to provide, giggling unprofessionally on more than one occasion and appearing as though she were hired simply for her appearance. Although I personally would step over my parents and friends alike, swim through a shark infested ocean, traverse a war torn battlefield and wade through a river of lava just to glimpse Ms. Jing's mesmerizing features, an actress of her talent and capability deserves to be appreciated for more than just her unequaled gorgeousness, and thus, is deserving of a role that utilizes each of her talents.The fights provide a decent amount of entertainment, but do not contain the sustenance of scenes found in the martial acts genre, and are instead similar to what may be experienced in an American feature - they're solid, but generally uneventful and lack glamor. The most flawless aspects of the film would have to be in not only its appearance, but the sound quality. The screen is frequently blessed with bright colors, and despite been largely set at night, everything is fabulously viewed. The sound is able to capture the moment, but so too does the score, which accentuates the film's mood.Although a number of the jokes could presumably be envisioned as 'stale', they are generally delivered in an effective manner. The frequent joke towards overweight women however, though originally humorous, eventually feels rather insulting, the film maintaining the notion that if a lady doesn't have the physique of Ms. Jing or Ms. Tong, then it is mandatory she alter her appearance.On first viewing you will in all likelihood find a good assortment of action and humor that will keep you entertained. On second viewing, though you will continue to smile and appreciate much of the fun, you will begin to notice the many cracks that halter this film from been anything better than just a good movie. This could have been an exceptional feature - let's hope the sequel makes up for it.

Anyone who watched Hong Kong movies from the 90s should roughly know what this film is about. From Vegas to Macau is another gambling-themed action drama comedy film directed by Wong Jing (王晶) which stars Chow Yun Fatt (周润发), but note that this film is not related to the God of Gamblers series from the past.As with many Wong Jing's films from the past, the film is full of slapstick and nonsensical 'mou-lei-tau' (无厘头) comedic jokes, some worked, providing the audience a few laughs here and there, while some don't...as some of them feel forced and superficial or due to jokes being done several times by many films in the past.The film will not be as entertaining as it should be without Chow Yun Fatt's charismatic performance as the legendary gambler turned Macau casino lead security consultant, Ken. It's been a very long time since we get to watch him involved in such a comedic, charming role. It's quite fortunate that he still got what it takes to carry the film. As usual, we have Chapman To (杜汶泽) to provide some comic relief to relieve some tension in the midst of serious elements in the film. On the other hand, Nicholas Tse (谢霆锋) delivered a quite disappointing, below-average, unenthusiastic performance as the good-looking main hero who knows how to fight, possibly to provide some eye-candy for female audiences.The film lacks in plot and character development for many of the supporting characters, which is quite common for many Wong Jing films, so it's expected. The film is at best when it's not taken seriously and just go with the 'flow', enjoying the comedic scenes as they come and go.Overall, it's still a decent entertaining film to watch during the Chinese New Year festive season, due to Chow Yun Fatt's incredibly charming performance.http://yjcool.blogspot.com/

The God of Gamblers series were the films of my childhood and were amongst the first films I binge-watched on television. Chow Yun Fat in a pompadour and tuxedo with unexplainable gambling powers walking in slow-motion was just the epitome of cinematic cool. The success of the first GOG spawned three spin off series, a sequel and a prequel. The gambling movies peaked with the Stephen Chow series when he took it to new heights with his brand of nonsensical humor. The trend started to die out in the late 90′s and eventually in the 2000′s became embarrassing rehashes starring Nick Cheung. The only interesting addition was 1999′s The Conman starring Andy Lau, a reboot of The Knight of Gamblers series, which interestingly rooted the gambling into reality. Sadly it was ruined by its lackluster sequel The Conmen in Vegas, which was a string of unfunny lewd gags.Now here we are with From Vegas to Macau, the story starts with small-time conman Cool (Nicholas Tse), whose undercover policeman half-brother (Phillip Ng) is murdered by Ko (Gao Hu), the head of an illegal gambling syndicate. Cool seeks the help of "Magic Hands" Ken (Chow Yun Fat), a legendary gambler turned casino security consultant, to battle Ko.As you may have figured, Chow is unfortunately not playing the Ko Chun character. The Ken character is more akin to Chow's silly comedic roles in The Diary of a Big Man or The Eighth Happiness, which is overall less serious. However much of Chow's cinematic allure is still there. I can watch Chow Yun Fat in a tuxedo walking into lobbies greeting people all day. When Chow sits at a gambling table, you just want him to win so much you don't even care how he is doing it. He is the warm bright sun shining onto this film, and every time he is not on screen, it starts to feel cold and stale.Nicholas Tse looks bored playing the stone-faced romantic lead Cool. Tse plays it so straight it looks like he belongs in another movie. Jing Tian, having previously starring together with Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan, is getting on my nerves from overexposure. Her policewoman is bland. I would kindly suggest that she go fire a real gun and wear the police gear before the day of the shoot, because she always looks like she's playing dress up. As the comic relief, Chapman To does the most with he's given with delivering the cheesiest jokes in rapid-fire delivery. To does it with such earnestness that he just about gets away with it.Even after 20 years, Wong Jing is still giving the same gags. I started guessing the punchlines to all of the gags. Even worse, I knew where they were all done before. To name a few tropes: the international water plot twist, staging a fake football broadcast, and the fat women being undesirable gag are all here. The most unforgivable thing is that there isn't a final gambling match at the end, and the anticlimactic nature of that left me empty.The biggest con man is perhaps Wong Jing himself, who in the final shot of the film, teases the audience with a surprise cameo appearance and plays a hip hop cover of Lowell Lo's original God of Gamblers theme song in the end credits, which insinuates the good film that he could have made, the film that everybody came to see. And that is just mean-spirited.Wong Jing, having seen him speak in interviews, has a very 'ends justify the means' approach to everything he does. As long as he makes money, everything he does is justified. That is the accountant-like approach to Jing's directing. What's most infuriating is the gambling film series feel stuck in time is not because of its nineties pastiche, but because Wong Jing has no interest of taking it anywhere by updating or adding a new modern angle to it. From Vegas to Macau just feels like reheated overnight food.For more reviews, please visit my film blog @ http://hkauteur.wordpress.com

Chow Yun Fat has not been this funny, or charming, or all-round entertaining in a long while as he is in 'From Vegas to Macau', and that alone is reason enough to make a beeline for this caper comedy during the Lunar New Year holiday. Touted as the long-awaited reunion between Chow and Wong Jing in a gambling-themed action comedy since their hugely successful 'God of Gamblers' series in the 1990s, it also sees Wong at his slapstick best, and that is saying a lot for the prolific filmmaker who has been known more for the quantity of his output than for quality.In a role that bears many similarities to his iconic 'Ko Chun' from 'God of Gamblers', Chow is the legendary gambler Ken who is renowned for his ability to read cards simply by touching them. Dubbed 'Magic Hands', the former Las Vegas Chief Security Consultant has returned to Macau to be with friends and family to celebrate his birthday, as well as to find a love interest for his only daughter Rainbow (Kimmy Tong). But Ken isn't just a replica of Ko (as the hilarious epilogue will also make a point about); instead, the former is also a prankster, and unlike his predecessor, has a madcap sense of humour.Truth be told, Chow doesn't appear until almost 20 minutes into the movie, which teases his entry by first introducing its supporting acts. Chow's co-stars here are Nicholas Tse and Chapman To, whom together with the former's father and the latter's uncle played by Hui Shiu Hung, are a team of swindlers out to rob the rich to return a piece of justice (and hopefully some cash along with it) to the poor. Benz (Shiu Hong) is an old friend of Ken's, and brings Cool (Tse) and Karl (To) along for the latter's lavish birthday bash held at the Venetian Macau no less.As with most Wong Jing action comedies, there is a lot going on at the same time. On one hand, you have Karl having the hots for Rainbow even as the latter (and we might add her father Ken) has her eye on Cool. On another, you have both Cool and Karl trying to convince Ken to take them under his wing as his disciples. But what really puts a spin on things is the addition of the villainous Mr Ko (Hugh Gao), the leader of a money laundering organisation that Cool's stepbrother Lionel (Philip Ng) was an undercover agent in just before his untimely death. Long story short, Ken, Cool and Karl find a common enemy in Mr Ko, setting the stakes for an action-packed finale set on board a luxurious cruise vessel.One can certainly criticise Wong Jing for the slapdash manner in which he flits between the various elements, but in the case of 'From Vegas to Macau', there is a zany energy with which he combines them for maximum crowd-pleasing entertainment. Lest it be any surprise, Wong has never been one to pay careful attention to plot and/or character development; instead, like a much more sophisticated Jack Neo, he isn't afraid to cut straight to the punch line if necessary, which also explains why certain subplots or characters even are presented but never really expounded - like Chapman To's Karl, who is pretty much absent in the last third of the movie.Thankfully, Wong Jing's comedic senses are at his sharpest here, so you'll likely be more than willing to overlook the obvious flaws in the story department. Ken's entry could not be more delightful with a hilarious game of poker between him and an arrogant challenger (played by Patrick Keung) as well as an obviously rigged lucky draw competition in order to engineer a match-up between his daughter Rainbow and Cool. There are also some good laughs to be had with the running jokes in the movie, including Ken's ability to imitate the sounds of gunshot with his mouth and a truth serum that Mr Ko's henchmen uses to force a confession out of his enemies.But through it all, Wong Jing's best lines seem to be reserved for none other than Chow Yun Fat himself, who takes a break from the more serious and dramatic roles of late to indulge in some screwball comedy. To say the change is refreshing is an understatement, for Chow reminds his fans that he has lost none of his charisma or drollness over the years. His timing here is pitch-perfect, and the same can be said of his singing and dancing not once but twice with Benz Hui as well as a former love played by TVB actress Maria Cordero. Indeed, Chow easily upstages all of his younger, more handsome, and prettier co-stars, leaving Tse looking positively wooden and To a somewhat childish one-note act. It is also Chow who anchors the more incredible sequences, most prominently Ken's 'killer' card-throwing skills.This is through and through Chow's show, a bravado display of charm and wit that will rekindle the love that his older fans have of him and win him a new generation of younger ones. As with last year's 'The Last Tycoon', Wong Jing seems at his creative best when paired with Chow, and even with the obvious change in tone, both actor and director have lost none of their collaborative spark. Here, they have created an unabashedly entertaining flick that packs action, comedy, romance and espionage into a rollicking package of fun and laughter. It's a perfect throwback to the 'God of Gamblers' series, and also your best bet at a jolly good time at the movies this New Year.