The Conman
1999
Director: Wong Jing
Stars: Andy Lau, Athena Chu, Nick Cheung, Angie Cheung, Ben Ng, Emotion Cheung, Waise Lee, Ng Chi Hung
A card shark called Blade (Andy Lau) kills an opponent after things get out of hand during a game and is color-blinded during the process. After getting out of prison (during which time his wife Angie Cheung has left him), Blade hooks up with a young wannabe called Dagger (Nick Cheung) and his sister Athena Chu. Though he wants to leave the past behind him, the brother of the man Blade killed (Waise Lee), through blackmail, brings him back into the fray for a climatic game during the World Cup finals.
The Conman is a pretty restrained movie, which is suprising, since it comes from Wong Jing and co-stars Nick Cheung. Actually, this restraint works in the movie's favor, especially since Andy Lau isn't exactly a dynamic actor. And despite the film's gambling overtones, it is actually more of a romantic drama/comedy, with a lot of the running time dedicated to Andy and Athena's relationship. But these bits work well. Athena Chu is cute as always and Andy is convincing as the world-weary gambler (though the "old age" make up -- which consits of a bad grey dye job -- looks pretty cheesy). Nick Cheung seems to have forgotten that he's supposed to be the next Stephen Chow and reigns himself in his performance, which makes his part actually funny in parts, especially when he's starring in some fake commericals shown during the World Cup game. And some props must be given up to Wong Jing, who puts in a funny parodic performance as a bumbling TV producer (and he also shows his sense of humor by taking some shots at his "fat playboy" image in some of the aforementioned commericals).
This is nothing even close to Wong Jing's gambling classic God of Gamblers, but it's a decent way to kill ninety minutes.
RATING: 6.5
A review of the VCD for this movie can be found here
This DVD is available for purchase at www.hkflix.com
