The Conman (1998)In theory a continuation of the God of Gamblers series. King (Andy Lau) is a sharper - a professional gambler who shrugs off his pregnant wife (Angie Cheung) for the not-so-glitzy world of gambling dens. We meet our hero when he takes out an opposing gambler aptly named Bad Temper. King manages a murderous trick with a razor kept on his person, landing him in prison. Released five years later, colour blind and greying-haired, he finds his trodden-on wife has disappeared and gets back into the gambling fold with the help of aspiring sharper Dragon. Caught up by Bad Temper's nasty pretty-boy gangster brother Handsome, King's roped into an exciting showdown with the "Shenzen Soros" - the notorious Macau Mon. Up against the 'King of Big Two', our hero needs plenty of trickery to win... There's enough played for laughs in the film to make it a fairly enjoyable couple of hours. But it's not like the God of Gamblers flicks of old - this one relies on computer betting techniques and hidden camera cheating - and there's nothing incredible about that. The casting's fine, though I found only Andy Lau stood out above a flock of marginalised characters. Wong Jing gave himself a major part in this one (as a wild cheapo TV producer), and he is one of the reasons to stick around for the fun ending. |
Credits: Written, Produced and Directed by Wong Jing |
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