The Butcher, The Chef, and the Swordsman
Not in such a long time have I disliked, then liked, and then disliked a movie all at the same time. The contradiction is do to the movie being made up of three separate tales that make up the storyline. They are all interconnected, linked by the creation of a cleaver made from the ore of the weapons of the deadliest warriors in the land.
The movie starts with the introduction to the three titled characters and the Chinese zodiac that represent them; the pig for the Butcher, the snake for the Chef, and the rooster for the Swordsman. The Butcher story starts the movie off, he is loud, annoying, and not pretty. He is presented as a not very subtle buffoon, no attempt is really made to make him likable or sympathetic. He is trying to win the love of a madam in the brothel house which he saw in the window and thinks she loves him when she dropped her handkerchief to him. However he is driven off by the Breadedman, a powerful swordsman. The Butcher and his equally annoying sidekick then run into what appears to be a crazy man with a cleaver that the Butcher wants to use as revenge against the Breadedman. But he is told that the cleaver can't be used to kill, and goes on to tell his story. He turns out to be the Chef.
The whole first part of the movie I was actually wondering if I had wasted my money, it was funny in some parts, but mainly annoying and grated a bit on my nerves. Everything was over the top, nothing subtle. Then the others stories started and everything changed. The Chef story was much better, still a bit slapstick but a greater story is starting to develop. Halfway through the Chef story we are then told to origin of the Swordsman story and the origin of the cleaver. Then it is back to the finally of the Chefs story. These two stories were excellent and very well done, but once they finished we went back to the Butcher.
The last part of the movie was back to not very subtle and full of everything and the kitchen sink set of gags. These include a fighting game parody, complete with life bars and sound effects, as well as a Chinese news computer recreation of a key event.
So the beginning and end of the movie were not very good, but the middle was fantastic. I think the Butcher part of the story was 40% to 50% of the film, which makes it feel like padding to get the movie over 90 minutes.
15 Plot
The plot for the Chef and the Swordsman parts are 25 but the Butcher was a 5, so I have to give the movie as a whole a 15 average.
15 Acting
The characters in the Butcher part were mostly annoying and meant to be that way and I would give them a 5. The characters in the Chef and Swordsman parts were much much more interesting and intriguing, and give them a 20.
20 Directing
I liked the directing, even in the butcher parts, all though the kitchen sink style during the second Butcher part was a bit odd.
25 X Factor
The great parts of the Chef and the Swordsman story make up for the badness of the Butcher. But if I was to watch it again I would go right to the start of the Chef and the Swordsmen and then stop watching when it went back to the butcher. Some people may like the Butcher story more then me. Another big part of the story was the cleaver itself, it became a character. It had mystical properties with some interesting results.
75 Total
The movie starts with the introduction to the three titled characters and the Chinese zodiac that represent them; the pig for the Butcher, the snake for the Chef, and the rooster for the Swordsman. The Butcher story starts the movie off, he is loud, annoying, and not pretty. He is presented as a not very subtle buffoon, no attempt is really made to make him likable or sympathetic. He is trying to win the love of a madam in the brothel house which he saw in the window and thinks she loves him when she dropped her handkerchief to him. However he is driven off by the Breadedman, a powerful swordsman. The Butcher and his equally annoying sidekick then run into what appears to be a crazy man with a cleaver that the Butcher wants to use as revenge against the Breadedman. But he is told that the cleaver can't be used to kill, and goes on to tell his story. He turns out to be the Chef.
The whole first part of the movie I was actually wondering if I had wasted my money, it was funny in some parts, but mainly annoying and grated a bit on my nerves. Everything was over the top, nothing subtle. Then the others stories started and everything changed. The Chef story was much better, still a bit slapstick but a greater story is starting to develop. Halfway through the Chef story we are then told to origin of the Swordsman story and the origin of the cleaver. Then it is back to the finally of the Chefs story. These two stories were excellent and very well done, but once they finished we went back to the Butcher.
The last part of the movie was back to not very subtle and full of everything and the kitchen sink set of gags. These include a fighting game parody, complete with life bars and sound effects, as well as a Chinese news computer recreation of a key event.
So the beginning and end of the movie were not very good, but the middle was fantastic. I think the Butcher part of the story was 40% to 50% of the film, which makes it feel like padding to get the movie over 90 minutes.
15 Plot
The plot for the Chef and the Swordsman parts are 25 but the Butcher was a 5, so I have to give the movie as a whole a 15 average.
15 Acting
The characters in the Butcher part were mostly annoying and meant to be that way and I would give them a 5. The characters in the Chef and Swordsman parts were much much more interesting and intriguing, and give them a 20.
20 Directing
I liked the directing, even in the butcher parts, all though the kitchen sink style during the second Butcher part was a bit odd.
25 X Factor
The great parts of the Chef and the Swordsman story make up for the badness of the Butcher. But if I was to watch it again I would go right to the start of the Chef and the Swordsmen and then stop watching when it went back to the butcher. Some people may like the Butcher story more then me. Another big part of the story was the cleaver itself, it became a character. It had mystical properties with some interesting results.
75 Total