The Assassins (2012)

First, the description provided by Amazon and Well Go USA (on the packaging of the DVD) confused me when I first started watching the film. Both descriptions reference the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC 24 AD), and in reality, the film was based upon events at the end of the Eastern or Later Han Dynasty (25 AD 220 AD) and the very beginning of the Three Kingdoms period. Added to that, the film seemed to be geared towards an audience familiar with this period of time and the major players (dead and alive). As such, I spent a lot of time figuring out who was who and how they fit into the overall story. If you are not too familiar with the story either, I would suggest you briefly educate yourself on Cao Cao and Xian, Emperor of Han, making note of how Dong Zhou fits into the picture. I anticipate this will help you better engage with the characters and enhance your enjoyment of the film.

From a cinematic perspective, I thought cinematographer, Zhao Xiao Ding's, use of muted colors along with bright colors to capture the mood was particularly well done. And as a directorial debut for Zhao Lin Shan, the film was good, but not quite on par with films like 'House of Flying Daggers' or 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.

Finally, 'Assassins' would have benefitted from a better developed romance between Mu Shun and Ling Ju, particularly as it relates to Mu Shun's role. However, from a political intrigue perspective, it was quite well done. I also liked the inclusion of Chinese opera, it added an emotionally poignant punch at the end.

I think 'Assassins' is probably worth watching at least once, but not a film you will come back to again. (3 1/2 stars)

I love Chow Yun Fat, so when I saw that he had a new movie out, I immediately rented it. The newer movies from China are noticeably more beautiful so I was expecting no less from this movie. I was not disappointed in the least about the cinematography. It was extremely crisp and clear and the use of colors and scenery were wonderful. The costumes were also visually stunning. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the film for me.

This movie is about the story of Cao Cao, played by Chow Yun Fat. I've watched a couple of movies regarding the Three kingdoms of China so I sort of picked up some of the history between the movies and reading what I can about it. The last movie that I saw that showed Cao Cao in a negative light was Red Cliff (by the way, an excellent movie to watch if you like this time period ) so for some reason I had that mental picture of Cao Cao in my mind for this movie. This movie spun off a different view of Cao Cao which had me rooting for him. Interesting since I was predisposed to disliking him based on what I knew. Chow Yun Fat, was as always, amazing an that was probably what got me. He is such a gifted actor that I'm always blown away by how he interprets and portrays the characters that he is playing. He IS the character and I forget that he is just Chow Yun Fat in a costume. Very multi-dimensional picture of his characterwhich for me kept me interested in his acting more so the movie. There was also a great supporting cast. I've seen a lot of Crystal Liu Fei in her mainland television series and most of her movies so I wasn't particularly very surprised by her performance. The others I was unfamiliar with but I can't say that I was disappointed at all with the cast.

I have to admit, the movie jumped around a little bit so if you don't pay attention, you'll miss some things. And there are some areas where you'll wonder what happened, because there isn't much explanation to what goes on. I found myself with my eyes glazed over at some parts simply because this movie was super slow in areas. I really think some parts could have been cut out and no one would have noticed. Movie was a couple of hours long so be prepared to be in one place for awhile. Also, if you're expecting a lot of actionyou'll be disappointed. This movie is more about the story of Cao Cao and his reign of power and what he had to do to stay on top rather than swordplay and battles. There are some fighting scenes, but again, it's not some Donnie Yen movie where there is advanced choreography. This is more of a history lesson with a storyline. Speaking of whichthe storyline outside of Cao Cao's life progression seemed to be input to create some drama conflict to make it more interesting, but I really felt it didn't add a whole lot to the movie. Rather, I found myself tuning out that part of the story to focus more on Cao Cao's plot. It almost felt like it didn't belong. I give this movie three starsokay, but not one I will watch again. Chow Yun Fat's performance is worth watching but only if you want to give up a couple of hours. If you want a wuxia movieI'd skip this one.

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Nice to see CHO CHOs future after Red Cliff. Gives a different perspective of him. lkNice to see a love story without sex.

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Chow is wonderful and the other actors support him beautifully. All about the days of warlords their life, their loves, their fears, and their destinies. The story is true to the bone. Thumbs up!!!

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This movie has a lot more character development than most asian martial arts/war movies. I love Chow Yun Fat's interpretation of his part.

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