God of Gamblers

A crass and cheesy but enjoyable crowd pleaser, a huge hometown hit that kicked off a wave of "gambler" films in Hong Kong in 1989. Chow Yun-fat plays a legendary sportsman so adept that he can listen to the dice rattling in the cup and "sense" the outcome. He is poised to take on his greatest challenge, a Singapore bigwig known for cheating, when he is accidentally bopped on the bean and develops a form of superamnesia that amounts to reversion to childhood. As rehabilitated by a good-hearted apprentice card sharp (Andy Lau), Chow becomes famous all over again, under the new sobriquet "The Retarded King of Gamblers." The finale is especially gratifying, as Chow trounces all his enemies at the card table. There are some hair-raisingly dangerous-looking stunts, and some winning interludes of subadolescent let's-make-a-mess slapstick. Director Wong Jing is a commercial hack who turns out literally dozens a films a year, but he knows how to push the viewer's buttons. (official distributor synopsis)