DanTheMan 2
Representing the first starring vehicle for Yuen Biao, he had a lot riding on Knockabout, a chance to show that his combination of martial arts prowess, good looks and acting skills could blossom into the charisma of a movie star, someone who could be at the centre of a major picture. Surrounded by a combination of old pros and rising young stars, given a script no worse than most kung fu comedies of the period, he was given every chance to flourish, which thankfully he did. As a comedy, the film doesn't quite work as well as intended, the humour is extremely laboured and chock full of poor jokes that admittedly probably work better with a crowd; once the humour backs off and Sammo Hung's action choreography is allowed to take centre stage, the film massively improves ten fold to the point I'm willing to forgive the majority of bad jokes and Karl Maka mugging the camera. While Sammo's direction is fantastic, unfortunately, the pacing is completely borked. It could have really benefitted from the odd trim here and there to tighten it up, especially during the rather painful first half because once the second half begins, it becomes something truly special. Despite my negativity, Knockabout truly benefits from Yuen Biao's effortless likeability, a strong supporting cast, an extraordinarily evil villain played perfectly by Lau Kar-Wing and some outstanding fight sequences that keep it from becoming an otherwise disposable venture, improving the longer you stick with it. I probably would have liked this a lot more had it not been for the sour first impression.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/25
Full Review
RedReigns H
My favorite kung fu movie of all time. Crazy choreography for the fight scenes, good comedy, a plot that leads to that classic training sequence we all love and of course some debt repayment.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/11/24
Full Review
Jonathan K
I'm not giving this 5 Stars because this is a 5-Star movie; I give this 5 Stars because this movie, given its genre, era and budgetary/technical constraints, represents the absolute peak of what was capable in a "watch this for fun" film. The characters are intensely fun to watch, the dialogue and editing are fast but fully cohesive, the acting works, the production design is passable, the music is cute and energetic, the story has a few clever moments, and the action sequences, the main draw of the film, are genuinely amazing. The choreography is woefully intricate, the performers' timing with each facet is extremely precise, the movements and stuntwork being of the caliber that only legitimate professionals could achieve, and these sequences show these professionals at top-form. Yuen Biao shows charisma and at least an adequate amount of range; his performance is slightly broad-brush, but this works fine with the movie itself, and this was commonplace at the time (mostly because the audio was produced later, so the actors were, essentially, filming silent movies). Biao's presence on screen, with his persona combined with his phenomenal Martial Arts/Stunt skills, really goes to show how great he could have been, and how much of a tragedy for the Martial Arts Genre it is that he never fully caught on. The other performances are pretty stellar in regards to combining high-energy fun with intricate action set-pieces, and perhaps the greatest of these is Sammo Hung, who not only Directed and Choreographed the film, but also plays the insanely skilled and slightly-nuts beggar. I have argued in the past that Sammo Hung is very likely the best Choreographer in the history of Martial Arts Cinema, combining continuous actions and reactions in a constant flow of motion, with no pauses whatsoever. The fact that these sequences usually involve three or more people only shows how great Sammo Hung is as a choreographer, as well as a performer, in these bits, and nobody else has ever been able to strike such a perfect cord of intricacy and effective comedy, possibly not even Jackie Chan (who was a partner of his, so they share a lot of the same creative DNA). Ultimately, the reason to watch this movie is for these choreographed sequences, as they are incredibly intricate and pulled off with absolute precision, and the fact that these are in a movie with likable characters, cute and fun music, competent camerawork and production design and an enjoyable story, elevates this to an absolute must-watch for any fans of the genre.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
04/07/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One Of The Great Classics Of Martial Arts Cinema, Follows 2 Brothers Big John & Little John. Once Defeated In A Fight With An Older Con-Man They Beg Him To Teach Them The Martial Arts. After An Incident Where Both Find Out He's A Fellow Con Trying To Con Them They Try To Go On The Run But Unfortuneatly The Older Gentleman Catches Up With Them. Little John However Has Now Trained Under The Fat Beggar & Together They Must Bring The Older Gentleman To Justice.
Sammo Hung Directs & Appears As The Beggar While Yuen Biao Has The Starring Role (In His Film Debut) As Little John. A Film Which Features Plenty Of Comedy & Action Scenes. A Classic.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Biao shows off his acrobatic skills in this 70's classic. Slow-mo jump rope, ho! Very Captain Falcon "Show me your moves!" Action choreography by, and starring Sammo Hung (credited as Hung Ching-Pao)
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Knockabout does have some stupendous fight scenes and some outstanding training sequences but most of them are in the latter parts of the movie so you'll have to sit through some pretty damn terrible stuff first. It's the typical Chinese 70s dated qualities such as bad acting, cheesy humor, and dumb writing so if you actually enjoy this sort of thing then you should be fine. But if you're like me and you can't stand it, just skip to the fight scenes.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
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