At a glance:The La Lingerie team of Chan Hing Ka and Janet Chun co-direct this kononnya gamblin movie.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Watch the first and last 10 minutes of Poker King but not the long 100 in between. That's because the lavish Macau-set project boasts such high production values and yet can't put a decent story to a movie that could've at least pretended to be similar to the standard Wong Jing gamblin fare. We get a completely unconvincin hodgepodge of a plot with bizarre character development, startin off with Louis Koo (pic) as a math genius who goes through a compendium of personalities, rangin from geeky and gay to rude and suave - all within the same movie. He's pitched against a gamin kingpin named Uno (Lau Ching Wan) who is unbelievably and unnecessarily stuck in a tug-of-war for the casino conglomerate with the math genius. More ridiculous storytellin comes by way of inconsequential romantic interludes involvin an unlucky drifter named Smiley (an ineffective Stephy Tang), a low-life biscuit maker (pathetic boyband actor Wong Yau Nam), a sexy female bodyguard (an underutilised Jolene Kuk) and a poker player turned secretary (a pointless Cherrie Ying). Let's not forget Josie Ho's bafflin role either, as a rival gamin boss who sleeps with Uno for no ascertainable reason whatsoever.
Perennial wonderment:
Is it very really so difficult to get a decent script?
I can't remember if I cried:
When I heard the joke about the Josie Ho's black bra and wintermelon. CE nak mampus.
Reminds me of:
Look For A Star, that other fluff that was shot in Macau. That one was better though.
Watch out for:
Cherrie Ying (pic). She got heat. She needs to go move back to America and star in some flesh-barin indie roles to make it big, instead of loiterin about for another 10 years in HK with roles like this.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
So jarrin is this adventure that it won't be surprisin if you were told this movie was written by 30 people, each contributin a different page for the screenplay. By the time we have the customary poker match finale, it's a little too late for us to care. Whatever aces Poker King was holdin before its general release, it's not unfair to say that the only straight flush we're lookin at is one at the cinema toilet. There goes a stinker.
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