DVD Synopsis: This is story about the friendship between Asia's King Of Gamblers, Law, and the Magic Hand, Chan. Law meets a girl Tung, who is willing to go straight with her father's help. Meanwhile, Chan tricked the Japanese Yakuza leader a large sum of money and resulted with the death of himself and his lover, Po-po. In order to take revenge, Law finally fights a life and death card game with the Yakuza... (125 Mins)

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Views: Crab and Sam are long time friends who both happen to be master gamblers. After his release from, where he was serving time because of a gambling scam, Crab reunites with his old partner to find that he has now become the best gambler in Asia. Regardless, the pair continue their gambling efforts and are soon hired by a casino boss to come to Vegas in a bid to expose some fraudsters. It's a job that soon puts them in the firing line of some feared Yakuza members from Japan, made only more difficult when Sam falls for Tong – the daughter of a Hong Kong socialite, to whom he eventually marries with the promise of going straight. But as Sam plays happy families and climbs the corporate ladder of his father-in-laws business, Crab finds himself getting into more bother as he continues his gambling journey alone – not least when the Yakuza manage to track the pair down for revenge. It all boils down to blackjack and bullets as Sam and Crab fight back to save themselves, as well as the women they love!

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While Wong Jing had been entertaining Hong Kong audiences with gambling movies since his directorial debut Challenge Of The Gamesters in 1981, the writer/director/producer/star went onto reinvent it less than a decade later with both Casino Raiders and the cult classic, God Of Gamblers. Although both were made in 1989, it would be this flick that hit the screens first allowing Wong to see what actually worked for his audiences back then, and refining things which possibly helped God Of Gamblers be the more superior film. It's not that Casino Raiders is a bad film by any means, but it maybe just runs a little too long for its own good which sees its first half getting bogged-down by overly dramatic moments and a number of scenes that don't really add to the story. Saying that, the direction is still pretty slick and the film is well-made, with a nice mix of locations including Hong Kong, Lake Tahoe in California, and Tokyo, beautifully captured by DOP Joe Chan who had worked as a cinematographer on King Hu's Raining In The Mountain and Legend Of The Mountain, as well as films such as Esprit D'amour, Aces Go Places 3, Golden Swallow, Crazy Companies, and Jet Li's The Master before going on to shoot Dances With Dragon, Royal Tramp, and Handsome Siblings. He is joined by cinematographer Gigo Lee, a man who similarly worked with Wong Jing and Andy Lau over the years shooting films such as Lee Rock 1 & 2, Fight Back To School 3, Holy Weapon, Crocodile Hunter, Casino Tycoon 1 & 2, City Hunter, and much more. Wong Jing is joined by the popular Heung brothers, with Charles co-starring and Jimmy co-writing, co-producing, and co-directing with him. Of course, the film was made under their own Win's Movie Productions company, with the trio already proving to be a winning team for well over a decade by this stage since Charles played the lead in Wong Jing's first film as writer – The Big Showdown.

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The wonderful Andy Lau and Alan Tam lead the way and this, for many, is another one of the downfall's of Casino Raiders. When stood next to a film like God Of Gamblers, it's clear to see that Alan is no Chow Yun Fat – lacking that suave coolness and incredible on-screen charm that the latter so naturally oozes. But I've always enjoyed Alan over the years, from comedy roles in films such as Armour Of God and Esprit D'amour, and hard action roles in The Last Blood, Dragon Family, and Pantyhose Hero – although if I'm to be honest, I'd have preferred to see Andy Lau in his role as Sam and someone like Jacky Cheung in Lau's role as Crab. Regardless, Tam still does a fine enough job right through to the big twist at the end, and returned to star with Lau for the official (although unrelated) sequel No Risk, No Gain the following year. Of course, this wasn't the first time the pair of pop-stars had starred together having appeared in Taylor Wong's underrated Rich & Famous (also with Chow Yun Fat), Lucky Stars Go Places, The Romancing Star 2, and The Dragon Family – going on to share the screen many more times over the years. The gorgeous Andy Lau Tak Wah had been dominating the 80s on the big-screen with over 30 feature film roles by the time Casino Raiders came about, delivering some memorable roles in films such as The Boat People, Shanghai 13, Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, Magic Crystal, Rich & Famous 1 & 2, As Tears Go By, Bloody Brotherhood, and so much more. As Crab, Lau plays a more mature version of his character (Knife) from God Of Gamblers and while he does return for the unrelated sequels, meets his unfortunate end in the second half of the film – but delivers it in true melodramatic Andy Lau form. 1989 was a shocking year for the actor, having starred in no less than 15 films from Bloody Brotherhood to Proud & Confident, and The First Time Is The Last Time to Stars & Roses, with the following few years seeing him dish out just as many time and time again. The pair are joined by the beautiful Rosamund Kwan and Ida Chan, with the former starring in a throw-away role that sees her play Lau's assistant/girlfriend Bo Bo and Ida starring as Tam's new love, Tong. Kirk Wong, director of Jackie Chan's Crime Story, Gunmen, and Rock N' Roll Cop, stars as an unlikely cop that brings a bit of humour to the show, and the brilliant Eddy Ko appears as a crime boss with a grudge. As mentioned, Charles Heung co-stars – this time as Casino boss Lon who helps his new friends when they get in a spot of bother. It's a little different to his bodyguard role in God Of Gamblers, but it works. In fact, Heung is joined by a host of actors who went on to star in the latter including Jimmy Lee in another evil role, Ronald Wong who cameos as an informer for Andy Lau (a partnership that foreshadows their friendship in GOG perhaps), and Luk Chuen who plays an assistant to Yakuza boss, Mr. Kung. The film also boasts a very multi-cultured cast that sees cameos from westerners such as Mike Abbott, Bruce Fontaine, Wayne Archer, and Louis Roth, along with a host of supporting Hong Kong stars and extras including Shum Wai, Luk Chuen, Wong Chi Keung, Robin Shou, Chin Yuet Sang, Tony Tam, and Lam Kai Wing.

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All-in-all, Casino Raiders is a pretty enjoyable flick and is definitely worth the watch – if not for its faster, darker, and more action-packed second half. Wong and Heung do a fine job between them and while it isn't the best of their gambling movies, it's certainly far from the worst. Interestingly enough, this and God Of Gamblers were followed by No Risk, No Gain: Casino Raiders The Sequel just a year later, a film that mentions Chow Yun Fat's character as the God Of Gamblers which kind of sets the Casino Raiders movies in the same world to some degree. But this is a far stretch of course, as the most of the films all share many of the same cast members that play different roles in every film. A third sequel, Casino Raiders 2, would then follow in 1991 – this time directed by Johnnie To!

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Overall: While it still has its flaws, Casino Raiders proves to be a highly entertaining flick and a decent warm-up for what was to come with God Of Gamblers!

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DVD Extras: Trailer