First things first: the fight scenes in "Knockabout" are plentiful and SUPERB. Some of them are staged like elaborate comic dances - Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton would probably be pleased if they could see some of the gags here. In addition to his great fighting, Yuen Biao performs many admirable acrobatic feats (I doubt that Jackie Chan could ever do some of the stuff that Biao does here),and Sammo Hung moves with incredible agility for a man his size! There is also a lot of comedy in this film, which will not be to everyone's taste, as it involves a lot of mugging and twitching (as well as exaggerated sound effects and animal sounds),but there ARE some genuinely funny moments. The only problem with the film is the plodding pacing: there simply isn't enough story to support 100 minutes of running time. (**1/2)

About half an hour into Knockabout and I was ready to award it a rating of 6; the martial arts were not particularly impressive and the comedy was routine. Half an hour later and I had changed my mind; the action had improved somewhat and the story was picking up. A 7 now seemed like a reasonable score.

By the end of the film, however, I was utterly flabbergasted: Knockabout had improved beyond belief, delivering one of the most impressive finales in a martial arts movie that I have had the pleasure to witness. I now award the movie an 8 and highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Yuen Baio and Ka-Yan Leung play brothers Yipao and Taipao, lovable rogues who convince a martial arts expert to take them on as students. When Yipao discovers that their teacher is actually a wanted criminal, Silver Fox (Chia Yung Liu),he is attacked by his master. Taipao jumps in to protect his sibling but is killed; Yipao barely escape with his life. Seeking revenge, Yipao enlists the help of a beggar (Sammo Hung) who is a master of monkey-style kung fu, and together they take on Silver Fox in a breath-taking fight to the death.

On reflection, I now realise that the earlier, less impressive fights were deliberately underwhelming in order to show how much the brothers still had to learn. As they gain more experience, the fights get better and better, until the mind-bogglingly acrobatic ending in which Biao performs feats that need to be seen to be believed.

The training scenes with Sammo's beggar involve some of the greatest acrobatics I have ever witnessed and these alone make the film worth watching. A final battle with Hung and Biao combining their monkey kung fu skills against Chia Yung Liu's snake style rounds off a wonderfully satisfying movie experience.

Knockabout is a real treat for all lovers of old-school martial arts movies and especially fans of Yuen Baio and Sammo Hung.

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.