'The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordman' is a tale of revenge, honor and greed follows three men that gets involved with a kitchen cleaver made from five of the greatest swords of the martial arts world.
It is hard to say how much influence (Doug) Liman had over the finished product, but the already jittery directorial eye of Wuershan may have been better served by a collaborator who favours a less-is-more approach.
Only in the centerpiece sequence does first-time director Wuershan successfully maintain his balance of the grotesque and the fanciful, a tricky feat elsewhere upset by his obnoxious style.
This coarse, complicated period comedy is unlikely to catch on with mainstream U.S. audiences, while fans of contemporary Chinese movies will compare it-mostly unfavorably-to Stephen Chow's equally broad but more graceful action comedies.
Wuershan's heavy hand, never letting up for a moment to allow any air or life to enter the film, cuts off the film's energy even as it rattles relentlessly on.
If it's diminished by the director's feverish urge to over-achieve, this movie is clearly the kind of irreverent, multi-platform, cross-genre, otherworldly stuff Hollywood wants from China: fast, furious, big, bold and brassy.
