ONE MORE CHANCE (别叫我"赌神") (2023)

Genre: Drama
Director: Anthony Pun
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Anita Yuen, Will Or, Alex Fong, Liu Kai Chi, Andy On, Kenny Wong, Michael Ning, Calvin Choy, Amy Lo
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 6 July 2023

Synopsis: Water Ng (Chow Yun Fat), a typical loser who likes to gamble and takes no responsibility is asked to take care of his ex-girlfriend Jik’s son, Yeung (Will Or). With Jik (Anita Yuen) telling him that Yeung is his son, and promised 100 thousand dollars, Water Ng agrees to be a father for one month. Soon he notices his son has Autism. He gets to understand the difficulties of raising a child with special needs. With Jik's absence on the agreed date, Water Ng realizes why she brought him his blood. He finds his life goal while discovering Yeung’s talent on the racing field, then decides to get rid of the dissipated life and accompany his son to achieve his dream.

Movie Review:

Do not be misled by the Chinese title of this movie, which literally translates as “Don’t Call Me God of Gamblers”. With Chow Yun Fat as its leading man, the drama will have most viewers expecting impressive gambling sequences where Chow’s character will display his wit and emerge victorious. This is because Chow is known for his role in Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers (1989), a comedy drama that spawned a successful franchise.

Nope, this movie helmed by Anthony Pun, a veteran cinematographer making his solo directorial debut, is not about a suave gambler with slicked back hair charming the casino in his tailored tuxedo suit. On the contrary, the story is about a middle aged man who doesn’t have luck on his side when it comes to gambling, and the relationship with his autistic son. Yup, you can expect quite a bit of melodrama in this 115 minute movie.

After portraying serious characters in crime thrillers like Cold War 2 (2016) and Project Gutenberg (2018), Chow returns to one of his most beloved personas – a happy go lucky guy who seemingly has nothing to lose. He plays Water Ng, a barber and habitual gambler who has clocked a substantial amount of debt. He resides in Macau, where he spends his days without any goal or long term plan in mind. Together with his friends played by Alex Fong, Michael Ning and the late Liu Kai Chi (in one of his final film roles), Water is quite happy with his life, has not much worries except for the occasional appearances by his debtors.

Things stay pretty much the same until his old flame Lee Xi (Anita Yuen) shows up, telling him that he will receive money If he takes care of Yeung (Will Or) for a month. The autistic teenager is apparently Water’s son, but why he took up the offer. With debts to clear, it is obviously the monetary reward that is the catch. As expected, the movie then features a series of incidents where the father and son progressively grow closer to each other. The only sequence involving gambling sees Yeung bringing an unbelievably amount of luck for Water at the casino. We were expecting the plot to head towards the direction of Yeung becoming a God of Gambler, but it goes on to see how Water adjusts his lifestyle and mindset to live with the son he never had.

The draw of the movie is seeing Hong Kongstars like Chow and Yuen grace the big screen. The nostalgia is real when the two actors appear in the same scene. They effortlessly pull off the right emotions, and you feel the joy, desperation, frustration and sadness of the characters. With other familiar faces like Andy On, Kenny Wong, Calvin Choi and an amusing cameo appearance by Ivana Wong, the movie is enjoyable to sit through.

With its Macau setting, the movie also works like a tourism ad for the former Portuguese colony. Expect glamorous shots of the city, and a gorgeous palette of dense colours in Water’s barber shop. Of course, there are the obligatory scenes featuring the towering casinos.

When a tragedy expectedly happens, the movie takes on a melodramatic approach and features a rather lengthy finale that goes on for a quite a while. Viewers who like storylines that go all out to make you teary eyed will find this welcoming, and especially if you are Chow’s long time fan.

The movie is reportedly filmed in 2019 and was known as “Be Water, My Friend”, a title inspired by Bruce Lee. Besides the name of Chow’s character, we also see Water worshipping Bruce Lee like a deity. One can only wonder what prompted the change of the movie title.

Movie Rating:

(Definitely not about the God of Gamblers, this movie serves up a considerable amount of melodrama and nostalgia, and should satisfy fans of Chow Yun Fat and Anita Yuen)

Review by John Li