Reviewed by: Masterofoneinchpunch Date: 04/06/2016 Summary: "Sir please do not pick your teeth with your card." This is the first time Corey Yuen and Jeff Lau had codirected together and their division of duties is obvious with Yuen on action and Lau on comedy. While both directors and star Stephen Chow had moderate successes before they had nothing as large compared to this. While its inspiration God of Gamblers was a massive hit, this pseudo-parody out-grossed it. This had to be a complete surprise to everyone involved. It was Chowfs superstar breakout role, it helped push the popularity of his pairing with Ng Man-tat (they first worked together earlier that year in Lung Fung Restaurant), it furthered the current gambling film craze with God of Gamblers II (1990) being next in this series directed by Wong Jing, who actually liked this film, and it started a trend of Chow playing a Mainland bumpkin with a special ability. Stephen Chow is Sing from Guangzhou who is to stay with his Uncle Blackie Tat (Ng Man-tat; who is also in God of Gamblers). He is so out-of-place he tries to buy soda with the wrong currency (RMB.) His suit would be rejected by Elmer Gantry. But besides his fighting skills he has a special power, he can see through things with a twinkle in his eyes. This was misused in Guangzhou where he was employed to look for pipe leaks, then as a customs officer. He was replaced by a machine.* He has a few other powers: one quite powerful where he can modify what is shown on a card/ticket, but that one drains him of all his powers for a period of time so he cannot use that one too much. But he has a big heart and is known as the Saint of Gamblers (also the Chinese title for the film.) Of course he is going to be used for his ability much like the Andy Lau and Chow Yun-fat relationship in God of Gamblers. Alongside Blackie Tat there are three brethren living together: Ying (Sheila Chan) who wants Tat, Shing (co-director Corey Yuen) who wants Ping, and Ping (Sandra Ng) who wants a bigger chest and/or smaller butt. A pretty amiable group who is going to benefit from Singfs abilities. And also like in God of Gamblers those two are going to start small. They even show a clip from God of Gamblers and Tat wants Sing to use copious amounts of gel and walk like Ko Chun (or at least Chow Yun-fat). Sing takes this literally and hilariously enters a gambling event moving in slow motion (compare this to a later gag with Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).) Meanwhile Sing falls in love with a female triad assassin Yee Mong (Sharla Cheung, yes she is in God of Gamblers) who is working for Hung Kwong the King of Gamblers who is handicapped, has to use a voice box, but is a consummate gambler and a crime boss. Hung wants Sing on his side, but so does Taiwanese triad member Chan (co-director Jeff Lau.) Some of the gags did not quite work for me. The armpit gag with Sandra Ng went on too long, though its absurdity was bizarrely interesting and is memorable since it means Sing is at minimum partially insane. The dry-humping of Uncle Tat joke also wore a little thin or at least wore Tat a little thin. The gambling scenes were not as well done as in God of Gamblers (which was often a shot-by-shot homage of The Cincinnati Kid (1965).) But the worst is some of the melodrama which is mostly time-filler and often feels off-balance with the ludicrous humor. Sometimes it is pretty stupid in a way such as Singfs possibly leaving (we know he is going to come back) a contest he has to be in. He pretty much condemns his uncle to being killed or at least castrated with a hammer (not knife) if he does not show up. But this is Stephen Chow and I tend to be a fan of his moleitau (nonsense) humor** which has such brilliant scenes from a triad boss who will not look a person in the face, to his Bruce Lee imitations which are in nice form and he is a decent on screen fighter. Chow has a great way of breaking a serious moment with a joke like a towel covering his head after a fight and he likes to use counterpoint such as when a litter accusation at Sing is shown at the same time as Tat spitting a loogie on the ground or use misdirection like when you think he is going to obviously cheat but instead scratches his nether regions in full view of the gcheatingh cameras. I overall liked Corey Yuenfs fighting and action scenes. But analogous to Bodyguard from Beijing (1994) and High Risk (1995) he often has issues with his gun battles like the protagonists avoiding bullets too easily and I do wonder how a couch can be used to shield oneself from a barrage of bullets from a short range. But he works well with the hand fighting scenes, makes Chow look good and Ng Man-tat even sillier with his unique style of fighting. For those who are Stephen Chow fans I imagine this has already been seen. Those who dislike Chow are not going to be converted here. Those new to Chow might better be served by seeing Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer first. But for those interested in Hong Kong cinema this is a landmark film that needs to be watched. Repeated watches make me realize how much of a hodge-podge plot it is. It is not quite up there with my favorite Chows like From Beijing With Love (1994), Love on Delivery (1994) or Kung Fu Hustle but I do enjoy this. This was viewed on the Mei Ah 99m R0/NTSC release (be warned there is a shorter version available.) It is anamorphic widescreen, has Cantonese (Original, Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, DTS) and Mandarin (Original) audio tracks while subtitles are Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English. The subtitles are not bad and the print looks good. Special Features are a Trailer (3:02m), Data Bank (which is Synopsis and Cast & Crew in Chinese and English), and Best Buy which is a 2046 trailer (2:24m). * Obviously a dig at the Mainland, but there several in this film (gHow about insect fighting?h gYou think this is China?h) and throughout much of Chowfs Hong Kong oeuvre. The obvious connotation that even with his gifts they cannot find a good job for him (or in Marxist thought they cannot exploit him properly.) ** He often uses Cantonese slang (as well as curse words) for some of his humor. A bad translation and some/all of it will be missed. But it is not as hard to understand as some reviewers/writers have stated since penis and poop idiomatic references are usually not as hard to understand as topical humor (for me like understanding the then current English political jokes in Monty Pythonfs Flying Circus). Slang is also temporal, it rarely lasts long in the local lexicon. But Chow uses visual humor, absurdity, some topical jokes like Bruce Lee that would not be hard for most viewers especially here to understand, and scatological humor that translates rather easily (a fart joke is a fart joke is a fart joke). Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 11/02/2007 Summary: The Mole Usually when I see a film once, I don't remember much after a few years (I watched about 100 movies every year) unless it's super memorable in which case it becomes a favorite. BUT anyway, I may not be able to remember anything about this movie by its title, but if you tell me this is the movie with "the mole", then I will definitely remember it. What unforgettable madness! Another memorable moment is the slow walking by Stephen Chow making fun of the slow motions from God of Gamblers. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: Chungking_Cash Date: 02/24/2007 Comedian Stephen Chow portrays a supernatural gambler from the mainland effectively exploited by his uncle (Ng Man-tat) in Hong Kong. Directors Jeff Lau and Corey Yuen Kwai play most of the action straight but Chow has his way with a hilarious parody of John Woo's "The Killer" in the crowd-pleasing gambling comedy that broke all previous domestic records (including Woo's own 1986 watershed "A Better Tomorrow") and turned Chow into the colony's top box office draw effectively deposing Jackie Chan who ruled the market during the '80s. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: ewaffle Date: 07/24/2006 The pairing of Stephen Chow and Ng Man-Tat has been one of the most successful and productive buddy acts in movie history. They have been in twenty-five movies together and while it is impossible (at least for me) to watch their early stuff and forget the impact of “Shaolin Soccer”, “The God of Cookery” or “King of Beggars”, the chemistry between them seems to be there from the start—in “All for the Winner”, for example. They have complementary styles. Stephen Chow is laid back, relaxed, almost somnolent. While his character may think about the big picture—generally a grandiose picture—he doesn’t concern himself with the details of everyday life. He is cool and unruffled even when he should be worried about what is happening. Ng Man-Tat is the opposite. His character is often not only involved with the minutiae of living, he generally finds things too complicated to deal with. He runs very hot, always ready to fly off the handle. He reacts too quickly to both good news and bad news, runs when he should walk, shouts when he should be silent, attacks when he should retreat. Together they are in the same league as Bud Abbott and Lou Costello or Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, although because they work in Hong Kong the twenty-five or so movies they made together are just a part—in the case of Ng Man-Tat not the largest part—of their filmographies. There are a few wonderful touches in “All for the Winner”. One is, after seeing a tape of “God of Gamblers” and wondering about Chow Yun Fat’s slow motion saunter into the card room, Stephen Chow decides to walk in the same way, but doing the slo-mo himself. Another is the confrontation that Ng and Chow have with tough guys from a casino who want to steal the money they have just won—although they are outnumbered and weaponless, Ng insists on attacking the thugs who beat him almost senseless. After Chow has subdued them with some Bruce Lee type kung-fu moves, Ng tells him that this was nothing--he deals with this kind of beating every day. Sharla Cheung as Mau was, as always, gorgeous. She was doubled very well in her fights and action scenes and wasn’t tasked with too much actual acting. Sandra Ng impersonated Mau impersonating the Spirit of Democracy (so she could always keep one arm raised) and did so as well as anyone could have. The scenes with Chow’s Mao and Sandra Ng’s Ping in the restaurant were excruciatingly drawn out. The entire bit of Mao being entranced with a mole on his beloved’s armpit was funny at first but after a few minutes it was (at least for this Western observer) simply something to get through. “All for the Winner” is hit and miss. The hits are quite funny, the misses are stupefying and overall it doesn’t seem to be an essential part of Stephen Chow’s body of work. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 02/06/2005 Summary: more homage than parody..... More homage than parody of The God of Gamblers, Cory Yuen presents an action packed comedy that showcases the pairing of Ng Man Tat and Stephen Chow in a magical alternate universe to the dark world portrayed in the classic Wong Jing film. Cheung Man is featured as the kung fu killer babe who becomes the pawn in the silly triad double-cross. Lots of Bruce Lee tributes and gun play for everyone! happyfortune.org Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 03/17/2002 Summary: Ummm........ By the way, THANKS Inner Strength for the VCD!! And what do i think.........i thought it was pretty average. The gambling, i actually guessed what would of happened (the end gambling scene) and i think thats because of all the other gambling movies out there made me think of the conclusion. As for the laughs, i did laugh here and there but like a review said the laughs come unevenly and i didn't laugh that much. The gun/fight scenes were pretty average. The actors, well I found Stephen Chow a bit annoying actually. Paul Chun steals the show in my eyes. I am a big fan of Stephen Chow but maybe my expectations for this movie were too high. 6/10 Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 02/03/2002 Summary: Great Stephen Chiau movie Having seen all the various sequels and spin-offs from this movie, I figured I'd pretty much seen the movie. Surprisingly, it still seemed like a very fresh viewing experience and kept me on my toes throughout. The most remarkable thing about the movie is how much like a Stephen Chiau movie it is. Now since it *is* a Stephen Chiau movie, that shouldn't be all that surprising, but given that it was the first "real" Stephen Chiau movie I was surprised how fully formed his style was. The presence of Ng Man Tat for the first time is perhaps the main factor that makes this a "real" Chiau film, and their chemistry is as good here as in anything they've done together. It felt like they'd been working together for years already, with just the right understanding of timing and delivery to complement each other. The movie is, as everybody presumably knows, a parody of God Of Gamblers - with a little bit of Bruce Lee thrown in too. It's a well developed script, with a lot of surreal/absurd comedy along the way, but also a strong story and dramatic tension. There's a couple of decent action scenes thrown in too, with Cheung Man looking particularly nice holding a gun here. The gambling scenes don't quite have the flair of the original GOD OF GAMBLERS, but they're pretty good. I have to agree with the objection Peter Napsted raised though - we are asked to cheer for our heroes even though they blatantly use supernatural powers to cheat at the table, when "bad guy" Paul Chun is apparently doing his best to play fairly Shame there's no DVD release for this movie - but the VCD is more watchable than the DVD releases that most of the GOG family have received anyway, so perhaps it's not too bad a thing Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 01/12/2002 Summary: CLASSIC Without a doubt, one of Hong Kongs most funniest comedies to date. This is also without a doubt in my mind the best performance I have ever seen from Stephen Chow. From the very first scene with the drinks machine, I knew this was going to be non-stop comedy, and was right. A gambling comedy with Stephen having supernatural powers & x-ray vision, opening to many funny jokes. Helping a long in the movie is of couse Ng Man Tat, and the very funny Sandra Ng. Corey Yuen is also in this, and was the action director, which is obvious by the impressive action scenes in this film. If you have never seen this, you have missed out, big time. Much better than the loved by many 'Fight Back To School', a movie that will have you in fits of laughter everytime you see it. Highly recommended! Stephen Chow & Ng Man Tat from this movie onwards made the perfect tag team for comedy. Rating: (out of 5): 4.5 (This rating is based on the year & genre, so don't think it's based as a comparison on new releases etc.) Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: danton Date: 01/03/2002 This movie is called DO SING (Saint of Gamblers) in Cantonese, and as that title suggests, it is indeed a parody of CYF's God of Gamblers movie. The relationship between all the various GoG movies/parodies is a bit confusing, but after seeing this film, I'd say that this is actually the first of the GoG sequels/parodies, with GoG 2 being the followup to AFTW. Anyway, the movie is about a country bumpkin played of course by Chiau Sing Chi who possesses supernatural abilities and who comes to HK to visit his uncle, played by Ng Man Tat. After seeing what Sing Chi can do, his uncle starts exploiting his talents to make money with gambling. Pretty soon, they find themselves torn between two gambling tycoons, threatened by gun-toting baddies and trying to win the world championship of gambling in a big final showdown. Cheung Man plays the love interest, and Sandra Ng has a comedic role that requires her to walk around displaying a mole in her armpit (don't ask). It's all very funny, with some engaging emotional moments in between. Seeing Chiau move in fake slow motion to make fun of CYF's typical entrance, or watch him do some cool Bruce Lee imitations was hilarious. In short, Stephen Chiau at his best. The final gambling showdown is as good as anything in the original CYF movie, with a very nice twist at the end. Strongly recommended. Unfortunately, this movie is also hard to get, and only available on VCD. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: leh Date: 12/09/1999 A parody of "God of Gamblers" which turned out to be at least as popular as the movie it spoofs. God of Gamblers II is actually more of a sequel to this movie.

Reviewed by: MadMonkey Date: 12/09/1999 Uneven, but it's clear why it made him a star--and the chemistry between him and Ng Man Tat as a slapstick duo makes up for a preponderance of somewhat untranslatable pee-pee poo-poo Cantonese word-puns. (3.5/5) Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 Mao is an innocent village boy with x-ray vision. When hisstreet-smart cousin exploits Mao's abilities on a gambling venture, Mao becomes wanted by two rival gang-bosses, each with their own plans for his talents. Meanwhile, Mao falls in love with the glamorous Mau, a double agent for both gangs. A hilarious non-stop series of betrayals and misunderstandings ensues, climaxing in Mao having to defeat gang-boss Hung at the gambling table. But without Mau at his side to inspire him, Mao's powers disappear. [Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Mao (Steven Chieu), a bumpkin from out-of-town, arrives in HK with strange psychic superpowers which seem to go on and off as plot convenience demands. And it's helpful at casinos. He falls in love with double-dealing Cheung Man, and becomes a potential gaming chip for either of two rival clans. Uneven comic adventures build to a brilliant twist ending, giving me one of my best laughs in months. (2.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 6