Synopsis: Han Kuo Tsai, who wants to learn martial arts to settle old scores, finds himself entangled with loan sharks and a master who is far more than he appears. (90 Mins)

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Views: A child witnesses his father getting killed by a kung-fu master, than vanishes for 18 years as he dedicates his life to learning martial arts so that he can take revenge. Han Kuo Tsai has led a life of poor choices that include him having a gambling addiction. He soon decides to learn martial arts so that he can take look after himself in a bid to survive the local gangsters and loan sharks. He soon meets a couple of kids and their kung fu master, who take him in and train him. As time passes, Han's master turns against him and the kids – but are soon saved by a mysterious fighter who turns out to be the child from 18 years ago!

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In a year when other Hong Kong studios were trying many new things and the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Lau Kar Leung were delivering high-end martial arts action, a film like The Gambler & His Kung Fu Master just seems a little behind the times. That said, it wasn't the only low budget kung-fu comedy from that year and it's not completely dreadful. It follows the typical revenge plot and in doing so, offers very little different that would make it stand out from similar flicks. While not particularly gorgeous to look at, although the poor picture quality and crop doesn't help, this 1981 flick was the debut film of director Shao Hao – a script supervisor and assistant director of a handful of Shaw Brothers titles such as Heroes Two, Men From The Monastery, Executioners From Shaolin, and Shaolin Martial Arts. Interestingly enough, apart from this film not even coming close to the greatness of those films, Shao would not direct again for almost 20 years after this, making The Horrified Dream his second effort in the year 2000 (and not a film you need to rush out to see either). Although it has a few moments to enjoy (and mainly when the action is happening), The Gambler & His Kung Fu Master spends the most of its running time trying to entertain its audience with too much broad humour that, ultimately, just falls flat...

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The gambler in question is played by Hong Kong comedy-actor, Hon Kwok Choi, a familiar face of Hong Kong cinema that is usually the comic relief of most movies he stars in. These include The Cub Tiger From Kwantung, Beware Of Pickpockets, By Hook Or By Crook, Aces Go Places, and even the awesome Running On Karma where he plays the hilarious, slippery thief that gives Andy Lau a bit of trouble. In fact, Hon would star in over 130 movies before his death in 2017, including a lot of serious roles and even tried his hand at directing with the 1980s action-thriller, Crocodile Hero, starring Jason Piao Pai and Hsiao Yu Lung. His role here would be mostly utilised for the comedy elements of the story, allowing him to show some kung-fu in the final 30 minutes. The man with the hairiest cheeks in Hong Kong, Cheng Kei Ying, plays the villain of the piece – although with a bit more compassion than usual as he takes on Han Kuo Tsia and two kids as students out of sympathy until his big (?) twist. As well as starring in many titles over the years, Cheng also made his directorial debut the same year with The Eagle Fist, an more enjoyable kung-fu film starring the great Chi Kuan Chun. The two kids mentioned are played by real-life brothers, Chan Bo Yeung and Chan Bo Cheung – one of which likes to go gambling with Han while dressed as a woman. A few other recognisable faces pop up throughout such as Shaw Brothers actor Wai Wang, So Hon Sang, Shaw Brothers actress Helen Poon, and prolific actor Ho Pak Kwong who has appeared in over 460 movies over the course of his career.

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Chow Sam handles the fight action – of which there really isn't a major lot to talk about. Although it would be his first solo outing as a choreographer (working with Simon Yuen and Chow Siu Loi on An Old Kung Fu Master the same year), Chow delivers some tidy action although never goes above-and-beyond to make you want to reach for the rewind button. And I must mention the fact that the kid from the start just vanishes for the most of the story, popping up in brief training sequences once in a while before he returns for the last 10 minutes to take down his fathers killer (which is the best fight of the film obviously) all while there's no sign of the titular gambler/Han Kuo Tsai character – is just bizarre! With very little fight action and a plot that really doesn't go anywhere, there's very little to care about in The Gambler & His Kung Fu Master, to recommend it to anyone!

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Overall: A boring plot with flat comedy, The Gambler & His Kung Fu Master offers nothing new to fans and is one movie I never need to see again!