Black Butterfly

1989

Director: Liu Ming Li

Stars: Wan Chui Ping, Mo See Shing

Black Butterfly tells the story of a female assassin who is sent to Taiwan to clear the way so a gang from Hong Kong can take over the territory. Problems arise when she breaks the cardinal rule of an assassin -- never develop friends -- and she cannot complete the job. Now hunted by both camps, the killer must turn into a savior as she tries to help her friends.

This movie starts out as a parody of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, but soon turns into an ABT wannabe itself, with warring gangster factions and plenty of dual-handgun slow-motion shots. Some of the action here is good, but the attempted melodrama feels cheesy and hollow. Black Butterfly tries to shake things up by adding in a Wong Jing-esque gambling subplot, but the gaming scenes aren't handled as well as in Wong's movies. It doesn't help matters that the direction and editing throughout the film is lackluster. I did like the main character, but in such an average plot and movie, even the best performance would have fallen a bit flat.

Overall, Black Butterfly is a decent gangster movie, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. If it had gone for a little more of the gusto instead of walking directly in the middle of the road (using more of the Wong Jing "kitchen sink" style it seems to want to emulate), we might have had something worth remembering.

RATING: 6

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