Chow Yun Fat has never been more endearing and charming as the brain injured "Chocolate". Chow makes believable and incredibly touching this dramatic transformation from genius to idiot savant. Viewers may find themselves wishing to protect Chocolate from a world he no longer understands and which is by turns baffling and inhospitable. Knife and his crew come to love and protect their friend, mortgaging all they have to provide him with a surgery that might restore his sensibilities.

Their Chocolate-aided success brings unwanted attention, which leads to pursuit, kidnapping, ransom and gunplay. Further trauma to poor Chocolate follows which leads to a showdown that highlights the God of Gamblers uncanny ability to win, even when opponents cheat and "friends" betray. While Chow Yun Fat's impressive talent and charisma are at the heart and soul of this film, the supporting players are excellent, especially Andy Lau and Joey Wong.

A must see and a must own for any Chow Yun Fat fan! In DVD versions of this film the subtitle problems noted in other reviews can be overcome by using the zoom feature on the remote. By slightly shrinking the image and adjusting it upward on the screen, the English subtitles will be perfectly visible and readable 99% of the time.

Note: The (HK) DVD version of the film is edited, with several original scenes cut that track the ascendancy of Knife and Co., and one pretty major plot point that would clarify the denouement at the film's end.

The VHS version of the film is also complete and offers the best readability of the subtitles, but is increasingly hard to find.

VCD versions which are unedited can be sometimes found, but the subtitle problem reasserts itself--VCDs cannot be adjusted to compensate for the problem.

But for anyone who has seen the DVD and has the general plot and dialogue down, the search for the unedited VCD or VHS versions is worthwhile.

Nomination at the 9th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards:

Best Actor, Chow Yun-Fat
Lost to himself for "All About Ah-Long".