Butterfly Sword (Special Edition)

Although it features a combination of entertaining violence (although the action scenes are over-edited and uninspired camera angles), brand-name actors, a love triangle, jockeying for position in the martial arts world, and eunich politics, Butterfly and Sword poorly elucidates its plot points and character motives, combining this with lightspeed subtitles and silly editing makes for a generally confusing experience (although it's not difficult to get the gist of the plot or characters, it just feels like you're watching the movie through a thick fog).

I think for fans of HK actioners this might be worth watching for some of the action, but even hardened fans will have trouble ennjoying the rest of the movie. If you're new to the genre and are looking for somethign from the same period, I'd check out something like Iron Monkey, the remake of Dragon Inn, or Swordsman II.

Butterfly and Sword is a very effective kung fu film set in a fantasy period with heavy reliance on wirework to give the actors absurd supernatural powers. This may be a good or bad thing depending on how you prefer your martial arts movies but I personally can enjoy and appreciate both the more realistic approach (Fist of Legend, Killer Army, ect.) and the frantic wire-ridden madness (Deadful Melody, Iron Monkey). Butterfly and Sword is choreographed by the amazing Ching Siu Tung and I beleive this film to be his best work. The action sequences are so mind-boggling but also so unbeleivably hilarious you will be on the floor in stitches. With stars such as Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen you just can't go wrong and while their acting performances are less than stellar, we all know its the action that counts and this flick delivers in spades. Do yourself a favor and check out this relatively unknown classic. You won't be dissapointed.

It is one of the better wuxia pien's I have seen. Very good acting and an exciting story. I liked the fight scenes a lot too.
Definitely recommended if you like Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Michelle Yeoh and Joey Wong, even Donnie Yen is less annoying than usual in this one.

This is a pretty fun movie, with lots and lots of crazy action, and some pretty well acted scenes, but it is unbelievably confusing, so you never totally get behind the characters. Michelle Yeoh looks great and does a decent job but she just seems too wholesome to pull off the role of the somewhat evil kung fu master. She is not as intense as Brigitte Lin who is really the master of that sort of character. Tony Leung, Donnie Yen, and Joey Wang are all really great in this movie. This is highly recommended for HK fans but not so much for casual kung fu fans who are better off with something like Swordman II. Be warned that there are mandarin only editions of this movie on the market, so make sure you are getting a cantonese version if that is what you want.

This film cannot be categorized as a martial arts film. Unlike the recent released Iron Monkey, Butterfly Sword's action scenes are so chaotic and confusing that you cannot really tell whether a person is fighting a deadly opponent or is simply twisting in the air for fun. With body parts flying everywhere, you wonder if you are watching a horror film. It is not a fantasy film either. There obviously is no ghost or gods, and supposedly people in this film don't really possess supernatural powers. Therefore, the action scenes can only be said to be insulting to either genre.

Despite a strong cast and beautiful scenery, the movie ultimately disappoints. One saving grace for this film is Donnie Yen. Though his great talents were wasted in his fight scenes due to over-use of wires, poor camera work and disastrous editing, he managed to compensate by putting more heart and warmth into his character, the ever serious but sincere Yip, who is the only likable character in the film. Too bad we have not seen Donnie Yen as often as we see Jet Li or Jackie Chan. A much better actor than Jet Li and extremely gifted in martial arts, he exuberates a certain charisma that simply draws people to him, either in a major role or a supporting role. Michelle Yeoh on the other hand is marvelous. She conveys emotions just as effectively as she does swirls and kicks. The scene where she glides through the air between two bamboo trees is one of few good action scenes in the movie, but it perhaps is one of the most graceful and elegant scenes I have seen in any martial art films.

Two stars for Michelle and Donnie.