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From Vegas to Macau III

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From Vegas to Macau III
Official film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese賭城風雲III
Simplified Chinese赌城风云III
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDǔ Chéng Fēng Yún Sān
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingDou2 Sing4 Fung1 Wan4 Saam1
Directed byWong Jing
Andrew Lau
Screenplay byWong Jing
Produced byWong Jing
Andrew Lau
Connie Wong
StarringChow Yun-fat
Andy Lau
Nick Cheung
Li Yuchun
Jacky Cheung
Carina Lau
CinematographyAndrew Lau
Cho Man-keung
Edited byAzrael Chung
Music byChan Kwong-wing
Chen Zhiyi
Production
companies
Distributed byGala Film Distribution
Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK)
Bona Film Group (China)[1]
Release dates
  • 6 February 2016 (2016-02-06) (Hong Kong)
  • 8 February 2016 (2016-02-08) (China)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
BudgetUS$40 million[2]
Box officeUS$182.6 million[3][4]

From Vegas to Macau III (賭城風雲III) is a 2016 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Andrew Lau and Wong Jing and starring Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Nick Cheung and Li Yuchun, with special appearances by Jacky Cheung and Carina Lau. The film is the third and final installment of the From Vegas to Macau series and entire of God of Gamblers franchise. The film was released on 6 February 2016 in Hong Kong and on 8 February 2016 in China.

Plot

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The film starts with the ending of From Vegas to Macau II, where cardshark Ken's lifelong lover-nemesis, Molly, skydives without a parachute from her private jet. She now appears to be trapped inside some sort of laser bubble — unconscious, naked and horribly airbrushed — while her admirer, mad scientist JC, fumes about making Ken pay within his lair underneath Paradise Island, off the coast of Thailand.

In Macau, Ken is busy having a meltdown over the wedding of the century of his daughter Rainbow to his godson Vincent. To help him snap out of it, his friend Mark hypnotizes him into thinking Vincent is marrying his fat cousin. Things go very wrong when Michael, the disciple of Ko Chun, phones in a warning to beware of JC, who has sent an explosive robot that looks like Michael to kill Ken. An explosion during the wedding causes both Rainbow and Vincent to each fall into a coma, while Ken and Mark are accused to have taken DOA's[clarification needed] illicit money. Enraged, Ken swears to seek vengeance and to pursue the mastermind who has entangled them in his evil plans.

Ken and Mark end up in prison, a convenient venue for them to play a card game using cigarettes as chips (so technically, it is not gambling), but are then abruptly rescued from a criminal raid and take refuge in Michael's home in Singapore. Michael's place serves as a cost-effective location for a lengthy stretch, while a gaggle of characters drop in and out to deliver gags. These range from a demonstration of wonky weapons by an expert to a cake-throwing match. Two romantic arcs unfold — one between Ken's C-3PO doppelganger robot, Stupido, and Michael's fembot, Skinny; the other a love triangle involving Michael, Ko's younger sister Ko Fei and Mark.

When JC finally arrives to exact revenge, he challenges Ken and his friends to a game of table tennis. He later invites them to a "charity" mahjong, dice and three-person card game from China (called "Fighting the Landlord") event at a hall in the island resort on Paradise Island. A host of cameos are trotted out, including Psy of "Gangnam Style" fame, who is then escorted out of the hall. After the games, sleeping gas is released into the hall, causing Ken and the guests to pass out.

Ken and his friends sneak into a warehouse under the hall, where they battle JC's mercenaries and four robots. Stupido and Skinny, who fly all the way to the resort, save them and defeat the robots, but are heavily damaged in the process. Michael encounters nine tough androids, who attack him, but he tricks them, and Only Yu arrives with Interpol officers, pressing a large button that forces the androids to dance and then self-destruct. Ken confronts JC in the latter's lair, and JC electrocutes him with a baton and a gauntlet on his right arm, destroying his laboratory in the process. Molly awakens from her laser bubble and calls JC, allowing Ken to defeat JC. As she dies in Ken's arms, JC watches and dies as well.

Cast

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Production

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Filming started in August 2015.[5][6][7] The film features returning cast members Chow Yun-fat, Nick Cheung and Carina Lau reprising their roles from the previous installment, alongside new cast members Andy Lau, whom reprises his role as "Michael Chan" from the God of Gamblers film series, and Jacky Cheung as the new film's main antagonist. In addition to reprising his role as "Ken Shek" in the previous installments, Chow will also reprise his role as "Ko Chun" from the aforementioned film series.[2][6]

Box office

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In China, From Vegas to Macau III opened simultaneously with The Mermaid and The Monkey King 2 and recorded an opening day gross of US$26.9 million.[8][9][10]

Reception

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Variety described the film as "a gambling caper with model 'Chinese Socialist characteristics,' meaning there's hardly any gambling or any other naughty fun at all." and credited the film to "Single-handedly killing a once internationally beloved, one-of-a-kind Hong Kong genre that Wong himself invented", noting that Wong Jing and Andrew Lau had "mangled their material to suit mainland criteria that they’re left with a string of moronic gags barely held together by cheapskate production values."[11]

References

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  1. ^ "澳门风云3（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b "ANDY LAU Re-Unites With CHOW YUN FAT In FROM VEGAS TO MACAU 3". maactioncinema.com. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Du cheng feng yun III (2016)" [From Vegas to Macau III]. The Numbers. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  4. ^ Busch, Anita (14 February 2016). "'Deadpool' Rises To $125M+, 'Zoolander 2,' 'How To Be Single' Follow – Int'l Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. ^ "《賭城III》卡士費逾億 發哥被爆有分紅". Oriental Daily News. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b "《賭城風雲3》開鏡拜神 劉德華張學友加盟". ihktv.com. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  7. ^ "「賭城3」開鏡！與華仔重逢 發哥揪眾星自拍". n.yam.com. YAMEDIA Inc. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  8. ^ Papish, Jonathan (8 February 2016). "China Box Office: Homegrown Hits Set Single-Day Record, 'Panda' Hibernates". China Film Insider. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  9. ^ Cain, Rob (8 February 2016). "Stephen Chow's 'Mermaid' Leads Chinese Box Office To $101 Million New Year's Day Bonanza". Forbes. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  10. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (9 February 2016). "China Box Office: Stephen Chow's 'Mermaid' Powers Record Single Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  11. ^ Lee, Maggie (9 February 2016). "Film Review: 'From Vegas to Macau III'". Variety. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
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