Zheng is a virtually broke young man whose violent fantasy life covers for the fact that he's barely staying afloat caring for his sick mother with the aid of Qing, the young nurse whose affection he can barely acknowledge. When an old friend offers him a chance to get financially ahead, he finds himself involved in a strange ship-board gambling competition run by a mysterious businessman (played by Michael Douglas) where high-stakes alliances may be the only way to survive and escape - but who can he trust and who might betray him?
This is a surprisingly tense exercise given the main story, when it kicks in, is pretty much a game like Rock-Scissors-Paper where our hero survives largely thorugh his understanding of game theory. Director Han Yan has a sure skill making the stakes both clear and intense (and keeps the suspension of disbelief at bay). It's not entirely unsurprising that this is based on the first volume of a manga series - there's a lot of visual spectacle going on here, together with a vaguely-hinted-at backstory that may possibly get developed a bit more in an almost-inevitable sequel. I found this kinda irresistable - yes, it's cheesy and somewhat nonsensical, but dammit, it's so stylish I didn't really care!
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