From Vegas To Macau (3/10)

Director Wong Jing hasn't changed when it comes to comedy. So if you like his silly antiques, then you're in for a ride. Otherwise, it's just silly.

Chow Yun Fat here easily was the best thing about the movie. I couldn't recall when was the last time Chow portrayed a silly character, but he made it work. Because he can and knows how. He's over the top, eccentric and full of flair. But he also brought that same sense of mystery about his character as when he did God Of Gamblers with Wong back in the 90's.

Another standout here would be Chapman To. I've seen him play silly roles before and have never really thought much about him in those roles. But playing it opposite Chow made him a standout because there's someone who was even more flamboyant than he was and they bounce off each other quite nicely.

So in the case of Nicholas Tse, who played it straight; he came off dull and uninteresting. With Cool being his character's name, perhaps Tse played it too cool and aloof; either that or his hearthrob charisma just didn't stand a chance beside Chow.

Both female characters here played by Kimmy Tong, Annie Wu and Tian Jing didn't really go anywhere. Tong was used more of an eye candy than character development. Wu was first introduced to the movie audience by Jackie Chan back in the early 2000's, and her acting skills didn't seem to have improve. Tian's subplot didn't have enough focus and was just a mess, especially her infatuation surfaced.

The biggest eyesore was Michael Wong playing yet another police inspector. However, his Cantonese seemed to have gotten worse with time, not better, as he took me out of the movie every time he spoke. How does one be so bad at one thing for so long?

Wong's storytelling still suffered the usual case of non-continuity or things left unexplained. A lot of Chow's abilities in the movies came and went as they pleased. The audience has no real idea as to Chow's limitations or which abilities were real and which were illusions if any. Out of nowhere in the third act, Chow became a ninja - throwing cards like shurikens. Sure, this wasn't anything new; but still, some kind of a backstory or backdrop would have been nice.

And once again, Caucasians used were super one-dimensional while a lot of pretty girls in bikinis were used as ornaments.

The ending left one big, fat opening for a sequel that I dread would be just as bad.