Casino Raiders II (1991)

Just when you thought the world of the gambling movie couldn't get any more confusing, along comes CASINO RAIDERS II, the sequel to... no, not CASINO RAIDERS, as you might think. Has absolutely nothing to do with CR at all. It does reference the GOD OF GAMBLERS' piece of jade as a significant plot point, which puts... God Of Gamblers II? Top Bet? in its genealogy, but it also makes a number of references to characters and events that I have no recollection of seeing in any movie so far. There's one called "NO RISK, NO GAIN" which is apparently sometimes referred to as a CASINO RAIDERS sequel, so maybe there's a connection there... but it doesn't sound like it

Anyway, down to the movie. We've got Johnnie To directing, Ching Siu-Tung actioning, Andy Lau leading and Wu Chien-Lien supporting. Not a bad setup, and one might expect great things. I think it's quite likely that one would be disappointed in this case though. Perhaps it's just because I spent too much time trying to work out which characters connected to which other movies and how (and reaching few conclusions), but it felt rather like I was being voyeuristic watching the movie... spying on events that I had no particular right to see, or perhaps it was no particular interest. I didn't really understand any of the back story that led to one thing or another happening, so it was hard to care too much. Well, that and the fact that the movie really adds nothing new to the genre. Wu Chien-Lien gives a good atypical performance though, and there's a child actress who isn't in much but is great. Some action & some gambling but nothing very memorable. Not really recommend unless you're an Andy / Wu Chien-Lien fan in need of a fix.