OllieSuave-007 After many sequels and spin-offs, this is the one true sequel to the original God of Gamblers, returning Chow-Yun Fat as the gambling master Ko Chun. This time, after living a seemingly quiet life, a new nemesis has murdered his family and he has vowed to seek revenge on those who did him and his family harm, while concealing his God of Gamblers identity for one year.As a sequel, I think this film does not compare to the intrigue, charm, humor and drama as found in the original movie, as the action scenes were, in my opinion, overkill, and the characters weren't as memorable - even though some respected actors such as Tony Leung-Ka Fai and Chingmy Yau have starring roles.The kid in the movie was a little annoying and the gambling scenes in the movie were over-hyped. There are some intense and suspenseful moments, especially when Ko Chun finally takes on his nemesis. There are also some funny moments from Leung-Ka Fai, but overall, it's not one of the more intriguing gambling movies.Grade C-

BA_Harrison The good news is that, in director Wong Jing's sequel to his 1989 hit God of Gamblers, Chow Yun Fat does not revert to a childlike state, meaning that viewers don't have to repeat the ordeal of seeing the usually cool star behaving like a drooling retard; the bad news is that, despite more action this time around, the film is just as bad as the first one, relying far too heavily on puerile comedy and dumb magical mumbo-jumbo for its own good.Chow returns as Ko Chun, now retired from gambling and living in France with his pregnant wife; but when wicked criminal/gambler Chao Siu Chi (Hsing-kuo Wu) comes looking for Ko, desperate to prove himself as the number one gambler in the world, Ko's idyllic world comes tumbling down like a house of cards (see what I did there?). Chao Siu Chi kills Ko's wife and unborn child, leaving a very unhappy God of Gamblers swearing revenge.The film starts well enough, with lots of ballistic action as the heavily armed baddies storm Ko's home (although there is a disappointing lack of bloody squibs this time around), followed by a surprisingly nasty demise for our hero's wife (she has her unborn child pulled from her womb). Another early scene on a yacht, where Ko defends a Taiwanese gangster and his family from Chau's men, is also well staged. From this point on, though, it's all downhill…Ko is landed with an irritating child side-kick and, pursued by the police, and stumbles from one terrible comedic situation to the next for what seems like an eternity. After lots of cringe-worthy gags, a spot of political humour (that went right over my head) and some awful nonsense involving a secret agent called Eagle, Ko arrives in Taiwan where he eventually faces Chao Siu Chi in a casino for a supposedly thrilling climax that takes quite a bit of swallowing (the whole thing with the hair attached to the card—WTF?).4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the brief shot of Ko's unborn child in a specimen jar (surprisingly nasty) and the welcome presence of Chingamy Yau as Hoi Tong, the sexy, kick-ass daughter of the Taiwanese crime boss.

action-6 "The Return of God Of Gamblers" is one of the few sequels that manages to be better than the original film. Chow Yun-Fat returns as Ko Chun or "The God Of Gamblers" in a more action-packed film. This movie has plenty John Woo-style actionscenes that will please any old fan of Hongkong-actionfilms, and the acting and story is also good. As in all actionfilms from Hongkong, the theme is brotherhood, friendship, betrayal and vengeance. A superb movie that surpasses the original movie in every way, but be sure to watch the original "God Of Gamblers" before you see this. 9/10

spider-31 A high budget sequel to the original, bringing glossy action and locations as well as gambling, chocolate, a gorgeous heroine and occasional slapstick comedy.The scene when Dagger attempts to seduce a woman who believes him to be the God of Gamblers is alone hilarious.With a romantic subplot, great action set-pieces and more stylishly filmed gambling, this film ups the ante on the first in the series, bringing in more magic, treachery and gunfights, with a welcome return from the ever-cool Dragon and a more sinister villain than last time.Do you play the gamble?