From Vegas to Macau II

赌城风云II

Hong Kong/China, 2015, colour, 2.35:1, 3-D (China only), 108 mins.

Director: Wang Jing 王晶 [Wong Jing].

Associate director: Zhang Min 张敏 [Aman Chang].

Rating: 4/10.

Pumped-up, weakly written sequel isn’t half the treat of the slick and witty original.

STORY

Hong Kong, the present day. Veteran master gambler Shi Yijian, aka The Magic Hand (Zhou Runfa), joins a yacht party thrown by his old friend Wei (Jiang Dawei), who says his adopted son Le (Yu Wenle) could be of help when the all-powerful DOA Group takes its revenge on Shi Yijian for previously harming its money-laundering operations. Shi Yijian politely turns down the offer. As he spots his first love, Mo Chou (Liu Jialing), on a nearby yacht, Wei’s boat is attacked by assassins arranged by new DOA head Cang Jing (Jin Qiaoqiao) on board her flying HQ. The attack fails. Later, Shi Yijian is visited by Interpol officers in his new Macau mansion, where he lives with his adopted daughter Caihong (Tong Fei) and a dysfunctional robot (Shen Tongjia); among the Interpol people, to Shi Yijian’s surprise, is Le. They are planning to arrest Ma Shangfeng (Zhang Jiahui), DOA’s former chief accountant and cousin of its former head, who has fled to Bangkok with his young daughter Ma Chuyi (Wang Shiling) and US$15 billion of the group’s money. In Bangkok, Ma Shangfeng and Ma Chuyi escape an attack on their hotel by DOA’s chief enforcers, Ghost Shadow (Wu Yue) and Purple (Hu Ran), Cang Jing’s girlfriend; but they are caught by Interpol who take them to a safe house outside the city. When the place is suddenly attacked by massive DOA forces, Shi Yijian turns up and helps to evacuate Ma Shangfeng and Ma Chuyi, who later slip away on a boat. Shi Yijian chases and catches them, and he and Ma Shangfeng go to a local casino in Sriracha to win some money for a meal. Subsequently, the casino’s boss lady (Treechada “Poyd” Petcharat) takes Ma Chuyi hostage until they return the ฿1 million they cheated from her. Shi Yijian and Ma Shangfeng hitch a ride to Pattaya to borrow the money from Ma Chuyi’s uncle, who runs a boxing side-show in an amusement arcade, but Kin has first to fight a muay thai champion, Nai Mee (Lu Huiguang). In the audience is Mo Chou, with whom Shi Yijian later spends time; Ma Shangfeng also visits his Thai Chinese ex-wife (Yuan Quan) and leaves Ma Chuyi with her. Back in Macau, Shi Yijian joins a high-stakes card game at a charity event to which he’s invited by Mo Chou; he wins, and later helps to beat off a DOA attack on his mansion where Ma Shangfeng is staying. After uncovering a DOA mole among the Interpol agents, Shi Yijian and Ma Shangfeng are invited by Cang Jing to go to Shenzhen, China, where she is holding Ma Chuyi hostage.

REVIEW

Though it grossed a humongous amount in China – twice as much as the original – From Vegas to Macau II 赌城风云II isn’t half as good. Where the initial CNY money-spinner by Hong Kong director Wang Jing 王晶 [Wong Jing] was a smart, fast-moving and witty riff on his God of Gamblers franchise of a quarter-century ago, this pumped-up sequel not only ditches the fond nostalgia for an age when Cantonese cinema was king but also throws overboard most of its playfulness and energy. Only peripherally set in Macau, and with a 55-minute section in Thailand that wanders from one increasingly pointless setpiece to another, it has all the hallmarks of a hastily conceived cash-cow in which the guiding rule seemed to be bigger must be better. On a craft (if not box-office) level, it bodes ill for the next leg, due in CNY 2016, unless the makers can get back to the basics that made From Vegas to Macau 赌城风云 (2014) such a treat.

Written, produced and packaged by almost the same team as the first film, but with Zhou Runfa 周润发 [Chow Yun-fat] the only major actor surviving the transition, FVTMII plays very differently, especially in the Thai half with its realistic look (producer Liu Weiqiang 刘伟强 [Andrew Lau] now taking a d.p. credit alongside returnee Cao Wanqiang 曹万强) and copious location shooting. Where editor Zhong Weizhao 钟炜钊 [Azrael Chung] turned in the first film at a super-tight 92 mins, he doesn’t create the same whiplash feel a second time round. It’s not just the fact that the running-time is 16 minutes longer; the plot is also much less dense, the humour blunted and the overall mood more like a regular action drama with silly bits and occasional gambling sequences than an original gambling-action comedy. Some of the change may equally be due to the fact that Wang’s associate director this time is genre journeyman Zhang Min 张敏 [Aman Chang], who lacks the sheer physical punch that fellow-journeyman Zhong Shaoxiong 钟少雄 [Billy Chung] brought to FVTM.

As the mob accountant on the run, Zhang Jiahui 张家辉 [Nick Cheung] – a fine but serious actor – doesn’t bring any bounce to match the grimacing antics of Zhou who this time, without supports like Du Wenze 杜汶泽 [Chapman To] or Xu Shaoxiong 许绍雄 [Hui Shiu-hung], looks like he’s landed in another movie. The 60-year-old star, back in “local” Cantonese comedy after two decades, too often looks frail rather than commanding, and also gets no help on the comic side from fellow actors like Yu Wenle 余文乐 [Shawn Yue] and even fellow old-timer Jiang Dawei 姜大卫 [David Chiang]. Some of the previous film’s traditional Cantonese vibe surfaces in a cameo-packed sequence with Zeng Zhiwei 曾志伟 [Eric Tsang], Chen Baixiang 陈百祥 [Nat Chan] and director Wang himself; but it’s only with veteran Liu Jialing 刘嘉玲 [Carina Lau], 50, that Zhou consistently strikes some sparks, despite her role as his onetime first love being more diva-esque than a fun frolic.

Packaged with an obviously greater eye on the China market, Mainlanders dominate more this time round, with Wang Shiling 王诗龄 (the tearful, tubby tyke from TV reality show spin-off Where Are We Going, Dad? 爸爸去哪儿, 2014) okay as the accountant’s knowing daughter, actor-martial artist Wu Yue 吴樾 strong as the villainess’ chief enforcer, and returnee Hu Ran 胡然 okay as his colleague. Playing the accountant’s ex-wife, Yuan Quan 袁泉 (The Continent 后会无期, 2014; Breakup Buddies 心花路放, 2014) looks out-of-place in a throwaway role.

The art direction by Zhuo Wenyao 卓文耀 [Andrew Cheuk] lacks any atmosphere this time, with an all-white, antiseptic set for the new home of Zhou’s character that apes the booby-trapped library in the first film but without any atmosphere. The dysfunctional house-robot, with whom Zhou shares some painfully unfunny repartee, is clearly aimed at kids but only succeeds in dragging down the tempo even more. Its scenes run a close second to a muy thai boxing sequence for the most embarrassing in Zhou’s career, at a time when he had successfully transitioned to imposing dramatic roles. Action choregraphy, switched from the experienced Li Zhongzhi 李忠志 [Nicky Li] to Li Dachao 李达超 (The Last Tycoon 大上海, 2012; The Guillotines 血滴子, 2012), is okay when it comes but a long way from remarkable.

Like the first film, a final scene refers back to God of Gamblers 赌神 (1989), but in a more elaborate way. Clips from the gangster drama Rich and Famous 江湖情 (1987) are used to show Zhou and Liu’s characters when young lovers, with Liu barely recognisable near the start of her career. In China, to play down the gambling aspect, the film was released as The Man from Macau II (澳门风云II).

CREDITS

Presented by Mega-Vision Project Workshop (HK), Bona Film Group (CN), Sun Entertainment Culture (HK), Shaw Brothers Pictures (HK), Media Asia Film Production (HK). Produced by Mega-Vision Project Production (HK).

Script: Wang Jing [Wong Jing]. Photography: Liu Weiqiang [Andrew Lau], Cao Wanqiang. Editing: Zhong Weizhao [Azrael Chung]. Music: Chen Guangrong [Comfort Chan], Chen Zhiyi. Art direction: Zhuo Wenyao [Andrew Cheuk]. Costume design: Zhang Fangdi (general), Lv Fengshan (for Zhou Runfa, Liu Jialing), Ouyang Xia [Connie Auyeung] (for Zhang Jiahui, Yu Wenle). Image design: Zhang Shuping [William Chang] (for Zhou Runfa, Liu Jialing), Xi Zhongwen [Yee Chung-man] (for Zhang Jiahui, Yu Wenle). Sound: Lu Zhiwei, Zeng Jingxiang [Kinson Tsang]. Action: Li Dachao. Visual effects: Huang Hongda (VFX Nova).

Cast: Zhou Runfa [Chow Yun-fat] (Shi Yijian/Ken; Gao Jin), Zhang Jiahui [Nick Cheung] (Ma Shangfeng/Mark), Liu Jialing [Carina Lau] (Mo Chou/Molly), Yu Wenle [Shawn Yue] (Le/Vincent, Wei’s adopted son), Wang Shiling (Ma Chuyi, Ma Shangfeng’s daughter), Hu Ran (Purple, Cang Jing’s chief female enforcer), Jiang Dawei [David Chiang] (Wei/Victor), Tong Fei (Shi Caihong/Rainbow, Shi Yijian’s adopted daughter), Jiang Haowen [Philip Keung] (Ma Dafa), Wu Yue (Ghost Shadow, Cang Jing’s chief male enforcer), Jin Qiaoqiao (“Cang Jing”/Aoi), Huang Debin [Kenny Wong] (Ben, Interpol agent), Zeng Guoxiang [Derek Tsang] (Interpol agent), Yuan Quan (Ma Shangfeng’s ex-wife), Meng Yao (majiang cheat on yacht), Zeng Zhiwei [Eric Tsang] (“Donnie Yen”, majiang gambler on yacht), Chen Baixiang [Nat Chan] (Li/Champ, majiang gambler on yacht), Wang Jing [Wong Jing] (Jing, majiang gambler on yacht), Wen Kailing (Jackie, Le’s Interpol colleague), Zhu Chenyu (Yu, Interpol agent), Gao Haining (Cang Jing enforcer), Cai Jie (Green, Cang Jing enforcer), Lu Huiguang [Ken Lo] (Nai Mee, muay thai fighter), Treechada “Poyd” Petcharat (Thai casino boss lady), Zhang Huiwen (Blue, Cang Jing enforcer with crossbow), Luo Ziqiao (Wei’s daughter), Julio Acconci (Do Min-su, Mo Chou’s Korean companion), Tang Zirui (Interpol agent), He Haowen (Dong, Interpol agent), Wang Zizi (Cang Jing enforcer), Fan Ling (charity event dealer), Liu Dehua [Andy Lau] (“Little Knife” Chen/Michael), Luo Yingjun [Felix Lok] (Han), Shen Tongjia (Weiqiang/Silly Qiang, Shi Yijian’s robot), Ashwin Yap (David), Huang Xuting (Ma Dafa’s companion), Zhang Min [Aman Chang] (Jiang, Ma Shangfeng’s Bangkok friend), Bill Majcher (Parker, charity event gambler), Zhang Shiwen (Sunglasses), Li Dachao (Chen Gang), Wu Yonglun (Long), Adam Zima (Mo Chou’s former companion), Wattana Kumkrong (Thai noodle-stall cook).

Release: Hong Kong, 19 Feb 2015; China, 19 Feb 2015.

(Originally published on Film Business Asia, 23 Aug 2015.)