Reviewed by: Chungking_Cash Date: 06/10/2007 Anyone who thought the "Back to the Future" trilogy pulled out all the stops on time traveling comedies has yet to see "God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai." This time around, Sing the Saint of Gamblers (Stephen Chow) and his uncle (Ng Man-tat) find themselves in 1930's Shanghai via a time warp. Written and directed by Wong Jing the narrative is all over the map and can hardly justify its nearly two-hour runtime. It is, nevertheless, an improvement over the series' second installment if only because Chow seems more accessible here; his humor has thankfully broadened and his punchlines have found a wider range of targets than those exclusive to Chinese culture. Still, whether it is considered a sequel to "All for the Winner" (1990) or a part of the "God of Gamblers" series "Back to Shanghai" features little if any gambling until Wong shoehorns in a show down at the tables for a metaphysical card flipping finale that really isn't that much fun to watch. Mainland beauty and internationally recognized actress Gong Li (seen here in dual roles) is underwhelming and looks out of place. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 02/06/2005 Summary: DVD recommended.... Despite what the English title says, this is the official sequel to All For The Winner. Funny as can be! You won't be disappointed with this film. The story involves some time travel back to Shanghai in the 1930's where the Gambling Saint meets up with the colorful characters that populate the mythology of that era. The movie is very well presented on DVD, recommended. Look for the stunning Cheung Man in a last minute cameo appearence. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 05/06/2002 Summary: GREAT Forgetting the confusing English titles for a minute, this is the official All For The Winner 2 (Diy Hap) sequel, and is very good. I won’t go further on the confusion people have between the GOG and the AFTW series (including Top Bet), or the story, as the other reviews sum most of it up. I will just say that it’s very funny indeed, and one of Stephen Chow’s best efforts, reminiscent of the original All For The Winner. Rating: [4/5]

Reviewed by: SeSSi|MaeTel Date: 03/16/2002 Summary: There're TWO versions of this movie! just to clear up the confusion, yes, there're two versions of this movie, the hk version stars Gong Li, and the taiwan version stars Fong Ji Wei, so both claims are correct. why two versions? my guess would be due to political reasons taiwan had rules against mainland performers showing up on taiwan's screen, and if stephen chow made only the taiwan version, it might not be as popular because the taiwanese singer was not as well known as Gong Li, who's an international star. btw, whoever posted that message about that it was not Gong Li shouldnt be so haste as to call other people liars before he did some research on the movie :P

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 11/21/2001 Summary: Almost no gambling, but lots of silly comedy GOD OF GAMBLERS III - BACK TO SHANGHAI. This one is purely on the SAINT OF GAMBLERS side of things, a pure Stephen Chiau movie. Almost no gambling takes place here, though there's lots of supernatural powers being weilded. Stephen Chiau is transported back to 1937 Shanghai, where he meets his own Grandfather and gets involved in the triads of the time. Some clear BACK TO THE FUTURE inspiration, but no direct scene stealing. Gong Li plays twin sisters - one the beau of the good Triad boss, the other her sister with the mental age of a 5 year old. She's quite good at this. The movie is a lot of fun, quite manic and creative. Some of the action scenes are quite shockingly brutal, and the treatment of the female characters has a definite Wong Jing touch which might offend some. There's plenty of Chiau comedy to be had from the movie though, including one of my all time favourite dialogues between Chiau and Uncle Tat!

Reviewed by: zarrsadus Date: 05/27/2001 This was another great Stephen Chow movie with his typical style of humor. While this movie didn't have much gambling in it except for the very last "duel," the action and comedy more than makes up for it. My favorite part had to be the McDonald's musical about pork buns, it was just so random to have everyone bust out in song but was hilarious anyways. 8 out of 10. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: nomoretitanic Date: 05/18/2001 Summary: That is not freaking Gong Li Whoever wrote the casting thing on this site was lied to. Gong Li was not in this movie. It was what's her face, that Taiwanese pop star, Fong Ji Wei or whatever her name was. Gong Li has nothing to do with this movie. From beginning to end this movie had a real low-budget feeling to it. Even its elaborate action scenes still felt incredibly ghetto, could be the poor VHS quality, or could be because Wong "I Suck At Making Movies" Jing. What's his obsession with SWAT homages? In City Hunter we get the "Thunder Team" (a Taiwanese SWAT equivalent) breaking into the cruise ship and shot the terrorists dead, right then it stopped being a movie and for five minutes it was a Taiwanese public announcement about their brave police units. Same thing here, during the climax, the Hong Kong swat team transports themselves via a spacetime wormhole (thank you Kip Thorne) and kills those evil Shanghaiese mobsters. Chow does his best to make it a funny movie and he succeeds, succeeds more than poor Jackie in City Hunter. But bottomline is, that chick is not Gong Li.

Reviewed by: Yellow Hammer Date: 05/10/2001 Stephen Chow is back in his third installment of the God of Gamblers series. Chow Sing Cho ends up in 1937 Shanghai, where he meets up with his grandfather and Shanghai Bund star Ding Lik, played again by Ray Lui. Gong Li is Yu San and Yu Mong, twin sisters, one the fiance of Ding Lik and the other with a brain disease that makes her act like a 5-year old.

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 07/03/2000 Summary: VERY FUNNY!! VERY funny movie where the Gambling Saint goes back in time!! Though some parts are predictable, thats doesn't matter because the comedy is GREAT!! Watch out for the "ZU" imitation!! 8/10 Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: MadMonkey Date: 12/09/1999 LOVED IT! Ng Man Tat is terrific as Chow's effeminate grandpa! Chow outdoes himself in a comedy-musical extravaganza scene set in a 1930's McDonald's-analog and featuring a SURREAL choreographed dance number to the tune of a song about steamed buns! GONG LI is gorgeous, and perfect in a double role as a chilly babe and her retarded sister! If you were annoyed by Gong Li's artsier performances in To Live and Raise the Red Lantern, just wait until you see her as a beautiful woman with the mind of a five-year-old. Made my day. A very nicely made, nicely shot slapstick-cinema classic. (4/5)

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 Stephen Chow stars in a zany spoof of the original. After beingdefeated by Sing, the Gambling King of China returns home to gather a group gifted with special abilities, and challenges Sing to a duel. Their special abilities affect the magnetic field of earth and disturb the operation of time. All is brought back to 1937 in Shanghai, full of struggle and bloodshed. What will happen to these modern intruders? Can they survive all those killings and battles in Shanghai? Will they bring any changes to history? And how can they return to the future? [Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Chow Sing Cho (Stephen Chieu) assumed the "God of Gamblers" crown after the Chow Yun Fat's character went into retirement, and now a cadre of psychic fu warriors are taking revenge for whatever offense he'd done in God of Gamblers 2, which I didn't see. They send Chow back to 1937 Shanghai, where he helps out a triad boss. He falls in love with stuck-up sophisticate Yu-San (Gong Li), and after she's killed, her retarded twin sister (Gong Li). There's a fun musical number, "Pork Buns," which asserts that China had the world's first McDonald's restaurant. Very weird and stupid, and of course, immensely entertaining. (3/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 7