Excellent but underrated film

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This is a superlative, period-set kung fu comedy along the lines of DRUNKEN MASTER – except it's actually better! Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao are in their physical prime and as an added bonus Sammo sets a high standard with some fine directing. Essentially, this is a film of two halves, with the first half along the typical lines of a kung fu comedy – lots of gurning, slapstick, and silly double/triple cross situations, plus over the top characters (the emphasis is very much on the effeminate) and some action here and there. Biao and Leung Kar-Yan both prove to be adept in their roles, particularly Kar-Yan as the sympathetic kung fu student.The second half of the film changes track into revenge-thriller territory, although there's still time for some comic horseplay as Sammo and Yuen grapple over a chicken. Biao takes part in some truly gruelling training sequences which even top those performed by Jackie Chan in DRUNKEN MASTER, and then it's time for the flawless extended ending, which sees Sammo and Yuen tag-teaming the truly evil kung fu master, Lau Kar-Wing, who seems almost immortal. This fight is furious, fast-paced and brutal, often managing to be hilarious in equal measure as Sammo and Yuen master monkey kung-fu and end up hanging from the ceiling as they battle their opponent.The fight scenes are superbly staged and both Sammo and Yuen put in great performances – Sammo as the twitchy beggar and Yuen as the arrogant, headstrong fighter. The supporting cast is very good, including PROJECT A villain Lee Hoi Sang whose bald head takes a vicious bumping and an unrecognisable turn from Lam Ching Ying. Kar-Wing's villain is one you love to hate and as a whole the film gels together very well, funny during the comedy and exciting during the fighting. Another classic from Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, the best cinematic pairing of all time.

A Kung Fu/comedy film about two brothers who are trying to get ahead in life using various scams and tricks on the public. This is one of the best films that demonstrate Yuen Biao's amazing acrobatic ability, not to mention his fundamental Kung Fu techniques.As like many other Sammo Hung films, there is an attempt to blend comedy, Kung Fu action, and drama. Most of the time it works, but there are certain scenes that sort of fall flat due to the utter reliance of on poor slapstick. Ka-Yan Leung's reactions are not as effective as they could of been, and even some of Yuen Biao's are a little hard to take.But apart from that minor problem, this film is awesome at everything else it attempts. Sammo's appearance is very satisfying and entertaining, as he plays a kind of beggar/master for Yuen Biao's character - the closest he's ever come to playing the notorious So Hai character I would guess. And the fighting increases in interest and technique as the film progresses flawlessly.Sammo really is/was a true ground-breaking director, and Yuen Biao under his direction is outstanding. This film is somewhere between "Iron-fisted Monk", and "The Young Master", in terms of it's Kung Fu and dramatic content.

"Knockabout" is a prime example of all the virtues of old school kung fu movies. It has cool characters, comedy, seriousness, a classic type of story, and loads and loads of great fighting and training sequences (especially, of course, towards the end). And it has these elements in such gold standard versions that it comprises a superb representation of the classic Hong Kong martial arts movie genre."Knockabout" brings together three of that time's top names in the world of kung fu movie-making, Sammo Hung, Ka-Yan Leung and Yuen Biao. Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao went on to do many movies with Jackie Chan, and actually Ka-Yan Leung's comedic role in this movie could well have been played by Jackie Chan. But I guess, at the time (1979), Ka-Yan Leung was a hotter name. This is the first time I've seen Ka-Yan Leung in a comedy role; he's usually very intense and serious, and often even bitter (see "Lightning Kung Fu" and "The Postman Strikes Back"). So this is quite a change. He pulls off the comedy part very well indeed, demonstrating that his acting range isn't limited to one kind of role.The main reason Ka-Yan Leung's such a hot property, however, is his marvelous kung fu skills. In "Knockabout" he and Yuen Biao are a couple of thieving brothers who're pretty good at kung fu. But when they encounter a guy they can't beat, they beg to become his students. And indeed, he teaches them to become so good that (as he tells them) "ordinary people" are no match for them. So, the happy-go-lucky brothers promptly go out in search of some "ordinary people" to test their new skills against. They find a bunch of extortion racketeers at the local marketplace, who, when asked who they are, claim to be "merely ordinary people" - and then, of course, the fighting breaks out! Very effective comedy.Sammo Hung plays a beggar/thief who follows the naive brothers, consistently fooling them out of half their loot. When their newfound master turns out to be a bad guy who only trained the brothers in order to fight off his enemies (who were using combinations of styles that no one person could counter, but two could), Sammo's the only one who knows enough kung fu to beat him. And that's leaving out a *lot* of details! This is a very good movie with a good story, but parts of it are not as entertaining as it could be. The seriousness is *too* serious, considering how wacky the movie's comedy dimension is, so it comes off as not being very well balanced.I rate "Knockabout" an 8 out of 10. It's among the really good ones, although one movie with a similar cast that is even better, is "Prodigal Son" (1982), which I rate a 9. (9 is my top rating for movies without several layers and other exceptional qualities, like aesthetic cinematography, etc. So far, the only kung fu movies I've rated a "10" are "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero".)

I just love this movie and give it 10 out of 10. Sammo is great and is his usual funny self with great martial arts, but Yuen Baio is AMAZING! I know he is famous for his kicking and acrobatic prowess, but in this film he is absolutely awesome. Some of the training sequences with Sammo where he is back flipping, somersaulting etc whilst using a skipping rope really show his fantastic acrobatic skills and he looks dead cute and sexy as well. His facial expressions are great whether he is being silly or serious and shows that he also a good actor as well as being an amazing martial artist. If you are a Yuen Baio fan, this film is a DEFINITE MUST SEE.