Do ren tou

I rate this a broken 6 just because the oppressed guy who turns in a vigilante here, is played this time by Korean pop-singer James Nam Gung Fan, usually an oppressor in Kung-Fu films from 70's. It was a rare change of role for him, and this charismatic actor plays it well. He's a poor fisherman and ex-Kung Fu expert ruined by a Casino. His wife died in childbirth and his child dies too cuz James' buddy gambles away the few money they had. From this moment on, James Nam goes in a one-by-one fights vs. the Casino's henchmen and rulers, eventually putting a bag full of severed heads on the game table. Tech values and directing job are poorly made but James and his co-stars (including Bruce Lee's The Big Boss-fired director Wu Chia Hsiang, Dragon Force's bald heavy Tong Tin Hei, Boxer Rebellion's japanese stuntman Yukio Someno and King Boxer/Five fingers of death's long-haired villain Kim Ki Ju) adds some interest to this very violent item. Bruce Leung Siu Lung is the Action director and hes also in the movie, so you can stay sure the Kung-Fu department is valuable. Made on a shoestring budget in few days basically on three sets (the Casino, a piece of forest and the fisherman's shack), GAMBLING FOR HEAD is rewarded as a cult movie by some fans of the genre.

Our hero is an expert fighter and fisherman. His wife dies in childbirth. He can make big money as the bouncer at the brothel or casino but he has an agenda against those people. When he meets one of them he says "You owe me (fill in a body part) and they fight to the death. The money problems get worse when the child needs to go to the hospital and his buddy gambles away their last dollar.

The movie gets a little weird when Chiang Nan, on a losing streak, stabs himself in the leg and asks for $2. The casino boss comes out and gives him his $2 in losses back and has him leave to avoid a scene. Somehow this concept of associating gambling loss to self injury escalates to the point of the hero dumping a bag of heads out on the game table. I didn't get it.

Bruce Leung Siu-Lung is the action director. The fights are frequent and good. It's all standard stuff, well choreographed and executed with focus and power. There is just nothing special or memorable. Overall I rate it average for the year and genre.