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This film tells the story of Lin Yao, a spoiled young man with a passion for martial arts. While pursuing Qin Shuang, the top courtesan, he falls victim to a series of traps set by Li Baimei and others, losing his entire fortune. However, Lin Yao eventually comes to realise his true self. With the help of his family and Qin Shuang, he masters martial arts, defeats Li Baimei and his cohorts, and protects the townspeople. [Source: iQIYI]

The Drunken Prodigy is directed by Ashton Chen (Detective Chen) and stars Terence Yin, Steven Hao, Zhang Shi and Vivi Chen. It has been released in China on August 3, 2024 and can be viewed on iQIYI.

Nowadays it seems that franchises are interested in world building and extended universes and you would think that this was a fairly modern innovation. We’ve always had spin-offs and sequels that introduce an added dimension to a cinematic world and in many respects, Wong Jing’s follow ups to his huge hit “God of Gamblers” could, to a degree, be considered an earlier example of the idea of world building. We started with the God of Gamblers in the original, then the Saint in the Stephen Chow’s more comical sequels. With “The Top Bet” we get introduced to the Saint’s sister and more female centric position before the arrival of “The Saint of Gamblers” that adds another shade of paint to a familiar formula by including a new “Saint” along with Lone Seven, a relation to the originals laconic protector. Now I’m not saying this is...