God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 22, 2026

Wong Jing's "God of Gamblers II" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Wong Jing; new audio commentary by critic and author David West; new audio commentary by critic Frank Djeng; additional scenes; and vintage trailer. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The second best

The Italians weren't the only ones who excelled at capitalizing on attractive cinematic characters and creating copycats of big box office hits. During the 1970s and 1980s, they simply became too good at it. When the money dried up in the 1990s, the Italians stopped dominating the film market. It is this simple. Italian creativity was driven exclusively by money, not unconditional love for genre films -- the copycats, semi-original ones, or original ones.

In Hong Kong, the practice of exploiting attractive cinematic characters and creating copycats of big box office hits had longer legs, but not because the folks there didn’t share the same love of money. They absolutely did. However, the Hong Kong film industry responded to different demand and trends. The domestic box office was routinely dominated by homegrown films, and regional stars had very loyal fans both at home and in neighboring countries, creating unique market dynamics.

The most consequential of these unique market dynamics was the strong support for shameless copycats of big domestic box office hits. (In Italy, some filmmakers also copied successful Italian box office hits, but this practice wasn’t as popular. During the copycat craze, local filmmakers relentlessly copied American blockbusters). These copycats regularly attracted stars as big as those who appeared in the box office hits that inspired them, and most were similarly liked. Additionally, many of these copycats were surprisingly creative, which is why other films then tried to copy them.

Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers II is a great example of a film that exists because of these special relationships and unique market dynamics. It is not a sequel to the box office hit with Chow Yun-Fat. It is a copycat. It is also a copycat mimicking plenty that made another copycat-parody, Jeff Lau and Corey Yuen’s All for the Winner, very successful in Hong Kong.

Unsurprisingly, God of Gamblers II borrows the star of All for the Winner, Stephen Chow, and unites him with Andy Lau, who reprises his character, Knife, from the original God of Gamblers film. The former is Sing, a.k.a. Saint of Gamblers, and dreams of becoming a disciple of the legendary God of Gamblers so he can stop a terrible curse that makes it impossible for him to keep any of the money he wins using his telekinetic skills. Sing wants the God of Gamblers to teach him how to win the old-fashioned way, while doing real card tricks and more traditional cheating. But the legendary God of Gamblers has gone abroad, so Sing reaches out to the second-best option, Knife, unaware he is a target for Hussein (Pal Sinn), a brutal mob boss and the son of a bitter rival of his missing idol. When bullets start flying, Sing and Knife strike a partnership to take down Hussein.

The void left by Chow Yun-Fat's departure is too big. However, God of Gamblers II still entertains very, very well. It is primarily because of its two male leads, both legitimate stars, making the best of a rather surprisingly good screenplay. High-quality action, of the kind that made many Hong Kong films produced between the 1980s and 1990s memorable, gives God of Gamblers II an undeniable period charm, too.

God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, God of Gamblers II arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The overall quality of the visuals is quite good. Delineation, clarity, and depth remain pleasing throughout the entire film. However, from time to time, and especially during darker footage with more diverse darker nuances, the grain becomes a bit noisy. I did not see any distracting anomalies, but ideally, grain exposure should be more consistent and attractive. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Color reproduction and balance are very good. All primaries and supporting nuances are properly set. Saturation levels can be improved a bit, but the entire film has a convincing period appearance. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting age-related imperfections. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is healthy and stable. If there were any age-related issues on it in the past, it is impossible to tell now. During the action footage, it performs very well and in a few places its dynamic intensity is rather impressive. Still, it is a Mono track with notable limitations. The English translation is excellent.

God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Money Maker - in this archival program, Wong Jung reveals that discusses his background and working methods, some of the classic American films that inspired him, the original God of Gamblers film and the copycats and sequels it inspired. Wong Jing also clarifies why the goal of his films is to make money. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (22 min).

• Additional Scenes - presented here are several additional scenes from the Taiwanese version of God of Gamblers II. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. (24 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original Hong Kong trailer for God of Gamblers II. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Commentary One - this new audio commentary was recorded by critic and author David West.

• Commentary Two - this new audio commentary was recorded by critic Frank Djeng.

• Poster - double-sided poster with original art for God of Gamblers II.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage Hong Kong poster art for God of Gamblers II.

God of Gamblers II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The void left by Chow Yun-Fat's departure is too big. However, old claims that God of Gamblers II is not a good film are way off. It is a very enjoyable film, occasionally even more so than the original film, with two legitimate stars shining in entirely predictable ways. Some years ago, when the God of Gamblers films appeared on DVD in Hong Kong, I picked them for my library, and then added most of the clones they inspired. In Hong Kong, gambling films, most of which mimicked each other, were all the rage during the 1980s and 1990s, and they seldom disappointed. So, the more they transition to Blu-ray, the better. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.