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It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

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

Blistering performances.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Chow Yun Fat is one of the coolest actors to have ever come out of Hong Kong cinema, his roles in films like The Seventh Curse, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, City on Fire, and Tiger on the Beat establishing the actor as the Chinese equivalent of Clint Eastwood, Cary Grant, Harrison Ford, Charles Bronson, and Robert De Niro all rolled into one. God of Gamblers looks set to continue this tradition, introducing Chow as Ko Chun, a suave, sophisticated gambler who has a seemingly supernatural ability to beat the odds, much to the chagrin of various underworld types.All seems set for another Chow classic until writer/director Wong Jing decides to try out a little role reversal with his star, staging an accident that turns his super-smooth character into an irritating childish simpleton, a combination of Forrest Gump, Simple Jack from Tropic Thunder and Dustin Hoffman's character from Rain Man (a film that Wong Jing seems to have taken just a little 'inspiration' from); at this point God of Gamblers becomes a far less enjoyable affair, the sight of one of Hong Kong's most iconic actors bawling like a child and continuously stuffing chocolate in his mouth not nearly as much fun as him cutting a swathe through Triad baddies with guns a-blazing.A wonderfully staged and extremely violent shootout between a confused Ko Chun and a gang of criminals briefly reminds fans of what they are missing, but it's the only decent scene in this otherwise rather boring and not-in-the-least-bit-funny caper. The only other thing about the film worthy of any praise is the lovely Joey Wong, who plays Jane, girlfriend of Little Knife (Andy Lau), the small-time hustler who takes advantage of the mentally challenged Chow: Wong wears some iffy late-'80s fashion but still manages to look fabulous throughout.Rather incredibly, this film was a massive hit on its home turf, spawning several sequels, and seems to have a pretty strong worldwide following judging by its high IMDb rating; I don't get the appeal, but then I never understood what was so great about Forrest Gump either—I guess imbeciles just aren't my thing.4.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 5 for the (implied) necrophilia scene, which at least caught me off-guard.

First off, most likely the reason your interested in this film to begin with is because of Chow Yun-Fat. Well in that case this movie is the absolute "Chow-iest of the Chow". Interpretation is up to the viewer and this is why: Traditionally CYF divides the charisma of his typecast roles into three genres: Light-hearted comedies, witty romance-dramas, or violent crime-dramas. Sometimes he may blend 1 or 2 of these genre- based roles together in one feature, however in God of Gamblers we have a blend of all three. Unfortunately the writing doesn't make this a positive attribute, as the movie feels like a disjointed combination of two main separate roles for CYF. For instance here, gangster and toddler. Yes, Chow plays both a gangster and a toddler. The film IS as strange as that sounds. If you have an affinity for the actor and are prepared to suspend your disbelief however, this is a very fun movie with silliness and violence slapped across the entire run time. Chow plays Ko Chun, "The God of Gamblers" who becomes a magical legend of every casino he enters. A problem arises where one day he loses his memory due to an unexpected incident, and becomes a silly wandering man-child. By coincidence he meets Andy Lau a low level street thug, and after some misadventures together Chow is able to slowly remember the legend that he was, and then will continue to enforce. Despite a horribly bizarre portion of the film being dedicated to an infantile CYF, overall God of Gamblers is a fun ride with an epic ending which will leave you highly entertained plus eager to go out and gamble. In conclusion, the TVB CYF and John Woo CYF don't mix well, but a bipolar CYF translates to ridiculous fun on-screen. -6/10

...but the subtitles on the DVD I rented were totally unreadable. They are burned directly into the film (unlike properly formatted DVD subtitles), and sit much too low on the screen, resulting in the English being cropped off. The VHS version might be better. Be warned!

If you like action movies, this film is for you. If you like gentle comedy, this film is also for you. If you've only seen Chow Yun-Fat playing suave, "hard boiled" killers this film is *definitely* one you should see. Breathtaking action sequences pepper a sweet plot about the triumph of innocence over arrogance and the power of love and friendship.Plus you get to see Chow Yun-Fat walking around with Mickey Mouse balloons.5 stars out of 5. One of my favorite HK comedies.