San lau sing woo dip gim (1993)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Michael Mak

Writer:

John Chong (writer)

Release Date:

16 January 1993 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

Dynamo Michelle Khan stars as a loyalist who attempts to keep the King's empire from being overthrown by a revolutionary group. Top fight action.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Martial Arts

Cast

Michelle Yeoh	...	Sister Ko
Jimmy Lin	...	Prince Cha
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Meng Sing Wan
Joey Wang	...	Butterfly
Donnie Yen	...	Yip Cheung
Chung Hua Tou	...	Lui
Elvis Tsui	...	Master Suen
Chuan Chen Yeh	...	Ho Ching

Also Known As:

Butterfly & Sword (Hong Kong: English title)
Butterfly Sword
Comet, Butterfly and Sword
Xin liu xing hu die jian (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:88 min

Country:

Taiwan | Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (cut) | Hong Kong:II | Germany:16 | South Korea:15

Flying Ant and Letter Opener.

I am sorry, I just can't get over the title of this movie. Apparently "Butterfly" is the name of a character, Joey Wang, but who is "Sword"? Why call someone "Sword"? I just don't get it. In all fairness to the movie, I've only watched it once and quite possibly wasn't paying enough attention.

On to the reviewing. I didn't really care for this film, for a few reasons. First, NOT ENOUGH MICHELLE YEOH. What scenes she had were incredible, but there just weren't enough of them. Second, ditto Donnie Yen. He's unbelievable, but only when the filmmakers let him do something. There is a bit of a love story, where he loves Michelle and she loves the guy I thought was her brother but wasn't. Tony Leung Chiu Wai (isn't there another guy with the same name?) and Joey Wang were the only people that loved each other. They didn't go around pining after everyone else. Confused? That's a minor problem with this, but who cares about the story when people are flying through the air, decapitating evil kung fu masters using only a volleyball? (Shaolin Volleyball, anyone?)

This film is essentially a bunch of fight scenes strung together. Most films in this genre are, and the fights in this one are way better than average. I don't suppose it's a film you'd want to make your children watch, as blood does gush liberally throughout most of the movie. Oh, and let's not forget the bad guy who continues to fight AFTER HIS HEAD HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF--now that's determination. You begin to get exasperated, wondering what it will take to just kill the man. Or at least hurt him. (I get the same exasperated feeling when video games hit you with constantly respawning bad guys. How are you supposed to win when your opponents refuse to expire?!?) I don't mind headless villains and blood gushing, especially when it's this attractive. Gore isn't usually eye candy, but Hong Kong just has a knack for this kind of thing. Donnie Yen does some great sword fighting with only one arm, but then he does great fighting all the time. (See "Dragon Inn" if you don't believe me.) I also happen to think that he's handsome, so maybe I'm prejudiced.

Highlight of the movie--Michelle Yeoh's entrance. I am a huge fan of hers, and it's nice to see her get such lavish treatment. She is carried in in one of those carts they use in Asia; I forget what they're called. Palonquins? At any rate, purple ribbons (seriously) fly through the air and attach to trees, leaving the cart suspended. Michelle Yeoh then flies out in a shower of gold glitter. (I guess they borrowed the gold glitter from Mothra, courtesy of Toho. They're big on gold glitter, for some reason.) Anyway, it's visually dazzling, and it also helps to soften the blow when you realize that her character is a huge jerk. I hated her so much it wasn't funny. I was beginning to feel sorry for Joey Wang, and that's saying something. She bothers me, usually, but she was okay in this movie. Her character was a little bit odd, with a habit of talking to a doll when no one else was around, but nevertheless. She wasn't as rotten as Michelle Yeoh's character. Here's an example of Michelle's character's rudeness. (Forgive me for using real names--it's very difficult for me to remember characters' names, for some reason.) Joey is "engaged" to Michelle's brother-figure Tony. When Joey learns she's pregnant, she makes some sort of dessert and rushes off to inform Michelle, and even give her something to eat. Not only does Michelle slam the food, she also asks if the baby is Tony's. That's just insulting. It seems that Michelle can destroy all sorts of tangible foes, but the green-eyed monster is beyond her capabilities. She surrenders completely to it. Not an admirable quality.

Isn't that Michelle singing the end credits song? I'm almost positive it is. She should have done a duet with Donnie Yen, if he is musically inclined. They'd make a formidable couple. The Iron Monkey and Supercop.