Director: Clifton Ko

There’s still enjoyment to be had in this Hong Kong comedy though as long as the potential viewer is willing to forgive its various shortcomings.

Hui delivers an always watchable and occasionally hilarious production that works on a number of different levels.

Clifton Ko prefers to fill the film with dubious comedy and ‘Home Alone’-style action – certainly no compensation for even a few seconds of Sammo’s genius.

Clifton Ko has been behind the lens for quite a few of these family comedies though the box-office hit ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World’ is one of his best efforts.

Thrown together rather than constructed, this is a production where the director has little idea how to generate organic laughs from situations and must therefore shoe-horn them in.

What makes ‘Gambling Ghost’ an above-average feature is undoubtedly the superb performance by the film’s main star.

‘The Mad Phoenix’ has moments that offer the kind of promise that make the finished product all the more disappointing.