If you are not familiar with Chinese superstar Chow Yun-Fat, the charming tough guy who has starred in quite a few John Woo gangster epics - including "The Killer" and "Hard-Boiled" - here's your chance.
Two movies that are among Chow's most popular in Hong Kong have opened at the Tower Theater, and both offer his talent in top form. And one of them also has the bonus of showing off Chow's gift for slapstick comedy.- "CITY ON FIRE" is the best of the pair (which are not playing as a double bill; you have to pay separately for each film).
Here, Chow adopts a familiar persona, the sardonic cop who goes under cover and becomes mixed up with really bad bad-guys, and finds a friend among the killers.
In this case he is reluctant to enter the game and only takes the case because his aging uncle - a veteran police detective - needs his help.
Chow passes himself off as a petty crook and gradually ingratiates himself into the right - or wrong - circles to join up with a gang of ruthless jewel thieves. They plot a big heist and he comes aboard.
Subplots abound, as Chow's girlfriend tries to get him to marry her, as Chow's uncle is shoved aside for new blood and as Chow finds himself aligned with the cop-killer he's trying to nail. And in the end, Chow's character naturally finds he has crossed the line.
Evocatively directed by Ringo Lam (who also produced and wrote the original story), "City On Fire" is loaded with flashy imagery that nicely walks territory previously staked out by John Huston in the '40s, Sam Peckinpah in the '60s, Martin Scorsese in the '70s and John Woo in the '80s.
It's rated a probable R for considerable violence, some profanity and a brief sex scene with nudity.
- "GOD OF GAMBLERS," which is one of the biggest money-makers in Hong Kong movie history, is another matter, however.
Perhaps it's just something lost in the translation or because I sometimes lack a full understanding of what the Asian audience finds humorous, but for me, this one is wildly uneven. In fact, it is essentially two different movies, with enough additional subplots to supply five more.
Chow plays the title character, Ko Chun, the "God of Gamblers," a traveling game-player who never loses. Cards are his mainstay, but he also dabbles in mah-jong and dice - and even when he doesn't seem to have a chance of winning, win he does.
The plot kicks into gear when Ko accepts a proposal by a distraught acquaintance who asks for help in getting revenge on a big-time cheat, a high-roller who is wanted in so many countries that he can only gamble on boats that stay in international waters.
At least that seems to be the plot.
But before Ko gets a chance to square off against this crook, he literally falls into a booby trap that was set for someone else. The resulting conk on his head causes Ko to fall into an amnesiac-childlike state.
The young con artists who set the trap feel sorry for Ko and take him in. Then, when they stumble upon Ko's gambling talent, they decide to use him to make a big score.
Eleven days later, Ko finally regains his memory and goes after the seafaring, cheating gambler. But before that, for about an hour of screen time, Chow finds himself on Jackie Chan's turf, acting like a petulant child, performing goofy slapstick and mugging outrageously.
This is a side of Chow's talent that I haven't seen before, and he's very good at it. But in this context it makes the movie rather disconcerting.
In other words, I enjoyed both of the lengthy stories in this film - but I'm not sure I liked them as one film.
"God of Gamblers" is not rated but would also get an R for considerable violence, along with some profanity and implied sex (including implied necrophilia).