KNOCKABOUT follows the contretempts of a pair of brothers, Yipao (Yuen Biao) and Taipao (Ka-yang Leung), as they seek to eke out a living swindling anyone and everyone they can. Shadowing them throughout is a beggar (Sammo Hung) who's also a sneak-thief and who has a pet monkey. The interplay throughout is beautifully handled as the three drifter grifters butt heads (funny especially early on because Biao and Leung aren't even AWARE that Sammo is picking their pockets). Yet again we have some absolutely brilliant fight choreography by Sammo (you can get winded just WATCHING these guys!), and there are the kind of off-the-wall characters we've come to expect from a Sammo movie throughout- the funniest (so to speak) being a pair of EFFEME fatales (two guys) who kick up a fuss at one point. Both Sammo and Biao showcase their outstanding skills in scene after scene. The one and only problem I had with this one was an unfortunate tendency for the subtitles to disappear altogether for periods of time (when they weren't being poorly synched to the action). In all honesty, the action was still easy to follow, but the problem was annoying. Still, a solid ten.
Review of Knockabout
