Dark Stone - Reign of Assassins

Reign of Assassins is a delightfully well made wuxia movie which will offer those familiar with previous entries in the genre everything they would expect; from vibrant visuals to elegantly choreographed swordplay and the fair share of melodrama which has become an integral part of this genre. I won't dive into plot details because there aren't a whole lot of them for me spend here, the plot synopsis which is provided on this site and others should give any viewer a good idea about the movies proceedings.

Director Su Chao-Pin and veteran filmmaker John Woo exhibit considerable command when juggling the films tone between dramatic seriousness and lighthearted romance whilst ensuring smooth transitions between the two and creating an equilibrium between exposition and action with none overshadowing the other. Actress Michelle Yeoh remains as charismatic as ever while playing the lead role with confidence and effectiveness and contributes greatly to the movies more dramatic scenes.

Overall, fans and familiars of the genre are guaranteed a great time with Reign of Assassins, those who do not enjoy wuxias in general should steer clear of this one as well.

I really enjoyed this movie and have to say its one of the best movies of this genre that I have seen in awhile.

The fight scenes were good, nothing that disregards the laws of physics and gravity too much. Quick action sequences, no shots that goes in slow motion and focuses on the flow of the hair kind of effects. The characters are so-so. I will not say that they are overly interesting but they don't distract from the story either.

The best part of the movie for me was how it actually caught me off guard. The plot twist actually made me laugh as I never saw it coming and I thought I have seen it all in martial art movies.

There are some parts that are funny some that are sexy. parts that are exciting and parts that are wholesome. I really recommend this movie. Don't let the rather formulaic and somewhat confusing opening throw you off. Its good :)

This is for sure a good movie to watch!!!

Maybe after Crouching Tiger.. this is a movie that I watched more than ones...

The action scenes are not too hyped.. and do not defy gravity...

The screenplay was well done

Plot of the movie was also well built and the characters keep opening up one after the other.

Of course there was age showing on Michelle but still she has that ability left in her to take up these roles and live to the expectations.

Definitely a good movie to watch..

Excellent wuxia pan with Yeoh in top form dramatically as well as in weapons work. It was refreshing to see the pan-Asian casting done for specifically appropriate characters and acting ability, but without much overt typecasting. Wang Xueqi anchors the film opposite Yeoh more than Jung perhaps, but in the best genre fashion the villains are given gradation and more complex motive and arc than one often sees in action film.

An initial introductory sequence put me off, with a lot of intermittent cinematography and freeze-frames on specific characters. Fortunately, this device is not repeated or characteristic. Kam's score is more understated than usual, and plays well with string accompaniment to the more tightly choreographed parts. Leon Dai's assassin styles and names himself after a Taoist Magician, which initially seemed too light. However, this changed quickly, and although he lent much color to later scenes the overall tone fit well.

It's got a very classic feel, applying wirework sparingly and focusing on the intertwined dialogue and motives of a large cast within the jiang hu milieu. The fights are intricate, concentrating on exotic weapons and styles, but mixing it up with some proxy fighting and concealed technique. It neatly avoids recently popular pitfalls such as overt cgi spectacle, massing sheer volumes of Mainland extras, or lingering on glamour shots of pecs and shimmering hair weaves. Instead, we get clearly delineated spaces for a series of crafted set pieces which fit into a whole - not something to be written around by committee. Hopefully, fans will respond and more filmmakers take notice.

English Title: Reign Of Assassins Original Title: Jianyu Year: 2010 Country: China Language: Mandarin Genre: Action Director: Chao-Bin Su Writers: Chao-Bin Su Cast: Michelle Yeoh Woo-sung Jung Xueqi Wang Kelly Lin Shawn Yue Barbie Hsu Leon Dai Hee Ching Paw Yiyan Jiang Zonghan Li Xiaodong Guo Pace Wu Matt Wu Feixia Wu Rating: 7/10

My gut feeling after the first view of this film is mixed with some relief and a shred of disappointment. Last year, it was propagandized as a John Woo's work in order to infuse some incentive into this star-studded kung-fu film to conquer the local cinemas. Shamefully this trick stumbled quite severely as it was largely overshadowed by DETECTIVE DEE (2010) at the box office with the same release period (during Chinese National Day, October 2010).

Its reviews were generally favored though, which should be merited to Chao-Bin Su, the real man behind-the-wheel and whose previous director works SILK (2006) and BETTER THAN SEX (2002) have won him some reputation as a gifted and emerging Taiwan director.

As a Chinese, the fact is that we tend to be immune from domestic Kung-fu films much more than foreigners, because since our infancy, we haven been surrounding and tested by myriad films like these, so it is difficult to make a fuss about it unless there is truly something special in it.

So speaking of this film, in spite of that it has many plot holes which doesn't make sense (even in the time of Jiang Hu, to name a few, our heroine's initial motivation of stealing the half buddha body in the first place; the plausibility of face-lifting technology; the sudden intensifying kung-fu mastery of our hero, etc.), the film converges some genuine talent to entertain its audience, especially the dreamlike cinematography successfully builds a ruthless world of Jiang Hu as well as its innovative fighting design which embodies each main character their own personality.

The cast is solid for an action film, it's the first time since CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON (2000), Michelle Yeoh finally collected a decent leading role as a martial fighter, which is well-done too judging by the criterion of acting. I do have high expectation of her to take a leap in the upcoming Aung San Suu Kyi's bio-pic THE LADY (directed by Luc Besson).

To sum up, I am pleased to watch this film and sincerely hope Su will become a big name in the near future.