Film Name: 龙虎戏凤 / The Queen of Gamble / 表姐，妳玩嘢！
Long ago I watched the Mandarin-dubbed version on TV, but only saw the censored cut. Recently I revisited this version.
This film was one of the many imitators during the gambling movie craze, primarily following the footsteps of “The Top Bet” (a sequel to “All for the Winner”). Released in April of the same year as “The Top Bet” (which hit theaters in early March 1991), it also touches on the concepts of the Gambling God and Gambling Saint (thus loosely placing it within the “Gambling God Universe”). It features a plot where the villain mistakenly believes his opponent possesses supernatural abilities.
The film boasts an all-star cast, including Cheng Yu-ling, Man Chi-leung, Aaron Kwok (still quite young at the time), Gigi Lai (very young), Michael Ng (in a rare villain role where he plays it straight), Simon Yam, and Hu Hui-zhong. The theme song is performed by Alan Tam. Unfortunately, the film lacks standout moments. While the atmosphere is lighthearted, the comedy falls flat (the sequence where the protagonists use film props to rescue someone could have used more humor; the cut version clearly omits several jokes). The gambling scenes and techniques feel dull and unengaging (making the female lead’s cheap trick to defeat the villain at the end feel like a forced resolution by the screenwriter). Moreover, the missing scenes in the cut version only highlight the film’s shoddy production values.
The cut version abruptly ends after the character played by Wan Ziliang discovers the reason for the female lead’s victory and then voluntarily eats the tampered playing cards, leaving the entire film feeling incomplete and leaving viewers wondering how the uncut (original) version concludes.
Overall, it seems the studio intended to create a serious yet not overly solemn anti-gambling film. However, to boost box office appeal, they were compelled to add trivial entertainment elements and numerous famous artists and actors. This film ranks among the most tedious gambling movies I’ve ever seen.
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