Hong Kong gangster Mr. Wu (Kao Chiang), worried that the impending 1997 handover will affect his operations, starts to ramp up his illegal arms activities and casino business in Taiwan. To ensure its success, he puts together an elite team consisting of Billy (Chang Shan, on top form here), who is the brains and muscle of the Tai Pei arm of their business. Lin (Tsai Chia-Hung), a sassy gambling queen from Hong Kong, and Chen (Carol Wan), an aloof but beautiful female assassin with some emotional baggage.
Fearing that Wu is muscling in on his territory, local Taiwan boss Hsieh (Luo Bin), initially sends a few men to tear up some of Wu's casinos but this quickly escalates into a full scale war led by Billy and Jay (Hung Gwok-Yeung), who is Hsieh's right-hand man.
The situation is further complicated by Jay wooing both Lin and Chen, which forms a dangerous emotional triangle with the female enemy opposition. Chen is eventually given an order from Wu to kill two people close to her. Will she let her feelings get in the way of her duty and obligations to her boss?
Aside from a few pacing issues (example, one expects a big shoot-out in the finale but instead we're treated to a drawn-out poker game...) and a slightly silly, abrupt ending, Black Butterfly is a competent action film that is easy to watch. Structurally, it's quite unusual with one of the best characters killed off a bit too prematurely and another who you'd expect to be in the finale, is noticeably absent.
Carol Wan as the titular Black Butterfly, looks the part in a variety of costumes, and although her impassive character doesn't require much acting range, she acquits herself well in the action scenes.
Speaking of which, the film isn't non-stop bloodshed but the few fights and gun battles on display are tough and quite well staged, especially the hand-to-hand choreography. Chang Shan shows off some impressive physical moves, most notably in a casino brawl earlier in the movie and later on against a trio of ladies, which is also one of the film's more memorable scenes. Some of the action is faintly stylised too, like a cool scene of Chen shooting one of Hsieh's men through a car windshield during a lashing rainstorm. These touches certainly help to elevate Black Butterfly above a lot of similar Taiwan and Hong Kong movies.
There are a few missteps, like a bike race in broad daylight that descends into Evel Knievel type antics, and a slightly aggravating comic relief sub-plot involving a female reporter named Nung. On the whole though, Black Butterfly is an efficient and enjoyable watch. Fans of low-budget triad action or female assassin movies will want to check it out.
3 out of 5
Review source: Tai Seng, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
Fearing that Wu is muscling in on his territory, local Taiwan boss Hsieh (Luo Bin), initially sends a few men to tear up some of Wu's casinos but this quickly escalates into a full scale war led by Billy and Jay (Hung Gwok-Yeung), who is Hsieh's right-hand man.
The situation is further complicated by Jay wooing both Lin and Chen, which forms a dangerous emotional triangle with the female enemy opposition. Chen is eventually given an order from Wu to kill two people close to her. Will she let her feelings get in the way of her duty and obligations to her boss?
Aside from a few pacing issues (example, one expects a big shoot-out in the finale but instead we're treated to a drawn-out poker game...) and a slightly silly, abrupt ending, Black Butterfly is a competent action film that is easy to watch. Structurally, it's quite unusual with one of the best characters killed off a bit too prematurely and another who you'd expect to be in the finale, is noticeably absent.
Carol Wan as the titular Black Butterfly, looks the part in a variety of costumes, and although her impassive character doesn't require much acting range, she acquits herself well in the action scenes.
Speaking of which, the film isn't non-stop bloodshed but the few fights and gun battles on display are tough and quite well staged, especially the hand-to-hand choreography. Chang Shan shows off some impressive physical moves, most notably in a casino brawl earlier in the movie and later on against a trio of ladies, which is also one of the film's more memorable scenes. Some of the action is faintly stylised too, like a cool scene of Chen shooting one of Hsieh's men through a car windshield during a lashing rainstorm. These touches certainly help to elevate Black Butterfly above a lot of similar Taiwan and Hong Kong movies.
There are a few missteps, like a bike race in broad daylight that descends into Evel Knievel type antics, and a slightly aggravating comic relief sub-plot involving a female reporter named Nung. On the whole though, Black Butterfly is an efficient and enjoyable watch. Fans of low-budget triad action or female assassin movies will want to check it out.
3 out of 5
Review source: Tai Seng, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
