Best movie of this year hands down!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

THE MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER is a superior kick-fest that beats any early Jackie Chan film hands down. With the likes of this, THE VICTIM, and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND, I'm surprised that martial arts supremo Sammo Hung didn't earn more respect and international stardom than his frequent co-star. His early offerings provide superior entertainment that do away with the tired clichés and chop-socky action of Jackie Chan's Lo Wei flicks and give the viewer a rollicking good time. THE MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER is an epic kung fu flick which offers everything you could ever want from such a film. There's a complex, twist-a-minute plot, plenty of comedy – of the low-brow, gross-out variety that is nevertheless ten times funnier than any American PIE movie – drama, suspense, horror and, of course, kung fu. As you'd expect from director Yuen Woo-ping, the fights in this flick are outrageously good, always fluid and fast-moving, and best of all, with a minimum of editing; you can actually see what's going on, and that means this film has an edge to all modern-day martial arts films.Sammo Hung is an intensely likable lead, and he admirably holds his own amongst the ensemble cast here. He's athletic, energetic, and willing to take a beating as well as dole one out; he's certainly one of the top five martial artists of all time, and watching him fight is a real pleasure. Lee Hoi San is also excellent as the fleshed-out villain, complete with a 'burning palm' technique that has to be seen to be believed, really doling out the punishment in this one. The supporting cast is chock-a-block with familiar faces: Fung Hark-On, later routinely typecast as a heavy, has his best role as the truly dastardly villain of the piece, whilst Yuen Biao is briefly on hand to show off his acrobatic style. Stealing the whole show, though, is Fan Mui Sang, cast as a drunken beggar; he's a real hoot, funnier even than Sam Seed in DRUNKEN MASTER, and his sheer presence and OTT acting adds to the film no end.Western audiences are often left feeling bemused or annoyed by eastern films, especially on first acquaintance. The eclectic MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER will no doubt confuse some people, mixing as it does solid belly-laughs with moments of high drama and tension that wouldn't be out of place in an adult thriller; for instance, the attempted rape sequence is near the knuckle and pretty shocking. In the end, though, the comedy wins outright, especially with the hilarious sequence in which Hung tries to master the 'Iron Palm' technique – little realising that the instructions he's being fed are for pickling pig's trotters, not a new martial arts style! The highlight of this whole film is the ferocious moment when Hung takes his revenge on Fung Hark-On, in which the screen feels like it is crackling with energy. Watch out for that 'Weird Cat' guy as well – a real psycho.

A great film. Sure it's a 70's kung fu film, but this one seems somehow to rise above many of its ilk. It starts quickly and from there, it feels like there's never 10 minutes go by without a cracking fight scene. And that's just the thing - ALL the fight scenes are cracking... even the ones you would expect to be minor throw-away scuffles are awesomely executed, filmed and edited! As a 70s Hong Kong Kung Fu film, it still has some fairly broad humour, but it feels more hit than miss. The pantomime style farcical elements here don't seem as forced or as protracted as in many movies of this type. It has some genuinely moving moments and the plot, although straightforward and formulaic, is also refreshing in that it doesn't deviate too much with irrelevances. Nor does it get too tied up in itself. However, there is enough plot there to keep interest in the brief bits between fights.And this film IS about the fights. There is some awesome kung fu with just the right mix of reality-grounded martial arts, and odd touches wire-assisted flair. Sammo, as with many of the main players, is clearly at his peak, and with his input, the fights can be pretty brutal at times. They are fast, lengthy, hard, and fast and are just starting to move away from the stilted nature of the 70s films. Yuen Biao gets a great showcase fight too - one that shows his martial arts ability more than his acrobatic prowess. This is a film about the martial arts - there are some impressive acrobatics but they are kind of the run of the mill stuff of these films, rather than the jaw-dropping acrobatics of say Wheels on Meals or Dragons Forever. Sammo pulls out some impressive flips though. As does Beggar So's character.This is my new favourite 70s kung-fuer... and I found it more enjoyable, even, than... dare I say it... Drunken Master!!! Yes - it's that good!

Without the aid of their buddy Jackie Chan, the icons of Hong Kong cinema demonstrates that kung fu comedy exists before and after Jackie appeared on the scene. Magnificent Butcher is one of the many examples of great Kung Fu minus the action superstar, the story follows many strands of the Kung Fu genre with masters and schools coming against eachother, complete with climactic battles and a heavy dose of boys own humour that is the template of this succesful era of kung fu. What makes this one of the greats is its simple charm, Yuen Woo Ping breathes so much life into this movie by treating the audience to a feast of distintly Hong Kong movie ideas. Only in Hong Kong action could their contain a scene whereby a characters uses the infamous farting technique to shame his opponent, or a blind begger mistakes a water vase being held by Samo as a toilet, and in the same movie contain an attempted rape, knives being plunged into the stomachs and the lead actor smashing his enemies head with a pray stone in extra slow-mo. Only in Hong Kong would a director attempt to gel these distinctly contrasting scenes and attempt to convey a cohesive story. And in Magnificent Butcher we have something close to success, as Samo effectively conveys emotions of comedy and extreme outrage in the blink of an eye. What is strange is how quickly these charaters forget their injustices and gripes which eventually lead to the climactic fight sequence where everything ends in triumpth, as we the viewer dispel with the plot and relish the movies subsequent closing. Magnificent Butcher, or Lin shi rong, is part of the era of Hong Kong movie making whereby anything that makes the audience laugh and cry for its duration was deemed a success, as the emphasis of movies made in this era was fun twinned with an element of truth, and this calloboration between Yuen Woo Ping and Samo sets the precedent for nearly everything that has been great about Hong Kong cinema ever since. Kung fu comedy at its most shameless, an undeniable classic for fans of Hong Kong cinema.

For the fan of the classic Hong Kong kung fu movie, this one is just plain fun. Sammo Hung is comic, fierce, expressive, and a joy to watch in action. Yuen Biao is conniving, devious, and mean. The action is wild, the kung fu is fast and furious, the stunts are convincing, all in all a great chop-sockey type movie. If you enjoy this sort of thing, give it a try!