Casino (1998)

On its release, this film received immense publicity. Not only did alleged 14K triad boss 'Brokentooth' Wan Kuok-Koi put up the funding for this film about himself, but he was also arrested days before the premiere. However, despite all the hype, 'Casino' is nothing special. Put simply, it documents Wan's rise in the Macau gangland of the 1980s. Set around a set of newspaper interviews, we see snippets of Wan's (Simon Yam) exploits, his relationship with his triad mate (Alex Fong), and the world they do business in.

Seemingly endless mediocre fight scenes are dotted throughout and there is nothing to develop the characters at all. In particular, we see far too little of Ada Choi as Wan's wife to feel for her character. When Wan failed to attend the birth of their son and subsequently dumped her, I really couldn't care.

Like the film T.H.E Professionals released earlier this year, this film looks and feels indescribably out of date stylistically in its look at a bloody gangland. But I heard T.H.E Professionals was apparently filmed years back, perhaps giving it a valid reason to look out-dated.

There are some redeeming features though. The ever-underrated Kent Cheng makes a great Macanese cop and steals the scene whenever he hit the screen. And the pairing of Simon Yam and Alex Fong is good too.

Credits:

Director: Billy Tang
Starring Simon Yam, Alex Fong, Kent Cheng, Ada Choi, Kennix Kwok