God Of Gamblers (HK 1989)

Rating: ***
Director: Wong Jing
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Joey Wang, cameo by Michiko Nishiwaki

The first twenty minutes and the last twenty minutes of this film are cool, slick, and stylized, but the hour in the middle is an exercise in tedium and boredom. Chow Yun Fat is the ultra-cool God of Gamblers ("God of Gambles" in the subtitles) who never loses. When cruel fate delivers a blow to the head, he loses his memory and reverts to being a child who can only be pacified by chocolate. Low-rent hustler Andy Lau and his poor girlfriend (adorable Joey Wang) take him in, learn his identity, and try to exploit his lucky powers at gambling, but this only causes trouble. Another bonk on the head reverts Chow back to his old persona and he has a gambling showdown with a nefarious bad guy. Some of it is very good, but some of it isn't (but at least there's Joey Wang to look at).