User reviews

I'd been watching this for about half an hour before I actually realised that it was the King of Siam himself, Chow Yun-Fat, playing ("Water") the hairdresser-cum-gambling addict who is saddled with his autistic son "Yeung" (a decent effort here from the young Will Or) who spends his time with his earphones on and doing little else. To be fair, "Water" is a fairly selfish and obnoxious character who has little, if any, interest in his offspring - until, that is, he realises that he has an uncanny ability to count cards! A priceless asset in a casino and dad soon takes a bit more interest in his debt-clearing youngster. Can this bond become something more loving and enduring? It's a sort or "Rainman" (1988) in reverse this, only without the subtlety or charisma. At times it's quite funny - in a clumsily slap-stick sort of way with local gangsters and loan sharks, at other times it is almost endearing - but for the most part the star just hams things up a bit like he did in the "Dragonball Evolotion" (2009) nonsense. It's watchable and the pace doesn't hang about but a few days afterwards, I doubt that you will remember much about it. I didn't.

First, there's Chow Yun-fat. Second, there's the God of Gamblers. And third, there's Carol Cheng. Again and again, it reminds me of the previous God of Gamblers movies, which is why I was drawn to watch this film. Oh my, it's all about gambling, no doubt about it. Superficially, the main character, Chow Yun-fat, leads a wayward life, often losing bets and accumulating debts. Looking at it from a deeper perspective, it's as if the director and writer wanted to convey that he had to risk everything, even his son and wife, to awaken the main character. He gambled with life, and how many people can see so far into the future and secure their lives through their choices, all fulfilled and content? If you've been doing something for a long time and haven't made any progress toward your goal, then maybe that's not the right thing to do at the moment. What disappoints women is when they feel regret.

This is not a thrilling or adrenaline movie. If you need that go watch something else. If you want to understand the difficulties in life, how to accept your flaws and want to be in a family then watch on. I don't to want give too much away, but we start off with an extremely flawed and unlikeable character, Water. I believe Chow Yun Fat accepted this script because of his life experience and how it shows everyone no matter how flawed physically, mentally or ethically can find redemption and how hard work it is to get it. While not a beautifully crafted movie by any means you need to give it a chance like you would your friends and family members. Yes kinda corny, but this is HK cinema and its the humour in its culture. Also some cool Macau culture thrown in. Think about what they are showing you and how you can grow in your situation.

I watched this on the plane and was touched by the movie's heart warming perspective in life. The acting was better than the typical HK flick, the story line in this type of movie can be predictable, but now they get to end is what drove me to watch. It was entertaining, moving at times, and most of it captivated me.

After watching this, I reflected back to my life on what is important, for Water it was the money and his gambling addiction, for others it might be their career, profits, or chasing the money, but many failed to realize that life and the value of time are far more important.

Overall, this movie was a slice of life, watch it and it will ground you on the importance of life.

First, I don't understand some of the other reviewers here. Incoherent nonsense! Did they actually watch this movie?! Second, just because there is someone who is autistic here doesn't mean this story is like Rain Man. I can understand the reference and there are some similarities in terms of the context, but no point in comparing them just because it's about someone with autism. You might as well compare this movie to Star Wars since this is a story about redemption and the estranged relationship between a father and son.

Chow Yun-Fat plays Water, a pathological gambler (an obvious reference to his God of Gambler films) who doesn't care about anything other than gambling. When his ex-girlfriend, played by Anita Yuen comes looking for him, she drops the ball, revealing that they had a son together and requests for him to take care of his teenage son for a few weeks. He finds out he's autistic, but has little understanding of the condition or love for his long lost son. The movie starts off like a comedy and is generally pretty light-hearted, but also has a lot of heartwarming moments as the father and son work on understanding each other and eventually forming a bond.

If you have a soul, you will most likely feel empathetic towards the characters and have to fight back the tears at some point. It's a very human story, even though there are moments that feel a bit exaggerated for comedic effect. This movie was very enjoyable and the pacing was good. It didn't feel like a two-hour movie. Definitely worth watching if you're in the mood for a heartwarming story.