Bodyguards & Assassins

excerpt, more at my location - When introducing Bodyguards And Assassins – a film based around the real life actions of his grandfather, Peter Sun was asked to comment on the historical accuracy of the film. A laugh went around the auditorium, perhaps filled with veterans of previous Donnie Yen films. Peter Sun laughed, too. Clearly, in bringing the film to the big screen, some embellishments had to be made. Bad news perhaps for scholars of Chinese political history, but great news for fans of martial arts cinema.

In saying this, Peter Sun effectively conceded that Bodyguards And Assassins is not really a film about his grandfather. Dr Sun appears in the film only briefly. But through the skilled interweaving of political thriller and Chinese hero myth, the film succeeds in conveying his importance, in the willingness of ordinary and extra-ordinary people alike to sacrifice everything for his success. In that, Bodyguards And Assassins is not just a hugely watchable martial arts experience, but a surprisingly effective vehicle for a political subtext that echoes in China to this day.

I had the pleasure (but discomfort) of watching this on the plane from Taipei to Bangkok and have never been so engrossed in an in-flight movie. It was heartbreaking and exciting and, although perhaps slightly out of place, the action sequences were excellent. The acting was great and this may well be my favorite film so far this year. I am unaware as to how accurate the story is but I would bet it is much closer to reality than most "Based on a True Story"-type films. Another reviewer said they were expecting a Hong Kong "Gangs of New York" and I think it does fall somewhere near this but I would rewatch this film 100 times before watching "Gangs" again... this is mostly due to Cameron Diaz's atrocious performance. I hope this film receives a subtitled release on DVD as I will definitely want to add it to my collection.

How do you make a movie based on a known/historical event worth anyone's while, when the final outcome is already well-established? Well, the answer that "Bodyguards & Assassins" provides is: not "with lots of new twists", but "with lots of heart". That's right, this is fully-commercialized blockbuster film-making at its most sincere-- where the previews were reporting how often it made test audiences cry.

I mean, with the casting of 12 named stars (each of whom could have headlined their own movie), the building of a full-scaled outdoor historical set, and an array of prize-winning martial-artists/ action-choreographers, etc.-- this film is about as "gimmicky" and "review-proof" as movies can get. But the cast strives to put their roles before their persona and become masters of the "wordless stare", the set stays quietly in the background without any panoramic sweeps of the camera, and the fighting is mostly shown in short, brutal bursts... which means audiences unwilling to read subtitles or do some research should just skip it-- since it packs an emotional punch rather than a visual one.

Make no mistake,"Bodyguards & Assassins" is almost the complete antithesis of the "mindless action movie" (the "thoughtful" action movie?)-- in fact, action sequences get "cut-off" at every opportunity just to remind you who and what these people are fighting for... so that the violence is always awashed with the tragedy, not thrill, of witnessing the "march of history" (as historical fiction, there's no real question as to who lives and who dies in the end).

Having realized from the box-office and critical success of "The Warlords" (2007) that the Chinese audience is a thinking one (i.e. Chinese blockbusters can be mentally "engaging"), the production team decided to pack a quintessentially Chinese socio-political melodrama into a historical tear-jerking actioner-- presenting the events of 15 October 1905, Hong Kong as the bitter fuse that sparked off the next 6 consecutive years of rebellions (occuring after end of the movie) leading to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, the script is so solid that you might find yourself wanting more of the drama than the action-- because the movie is paced/ structured as an unrelenting series of ever-tightening expositions (& related fighting) that reveals more and more about the people and the "fin de siecle" that is the real heart of this film... before all the build-up is gently released with a teary eye and a few end-titles.

Such an approach should have been doomed from the start, but the accomplished film-makers (much like the historical figures in the movie) mostly managed to weave all the disparate elements into an ensemble act that is not dominated or resolved by "leave-your-brain-at-the-door" action set-pieces or CGI eye-candy. The historical setting called up a whole host of period clichés, while the varied casting and side-stories drew attention to any uneven acting and editing-- but the expert directing and sharp dialog made 3-dimensional characters out of 2-dimensional stereotypes, while veteran actors Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Wang Xue-Qi ably anchored the film as a rhetoric-spewing revolutionary ("The day of reckoning is here!") and his reluctant financial-backer ("how much money do you need this time?"). There are some production flaws with less-than perfect make-up, CGI, etc.-- which are expected (& understandable) in Asian productions... but there is also an air of "authenticity".

So this is an "action" movie to watch, if you feel like having a good cry-- over all the little people who contributed to the success of the 1911 Revolution... unless you actually need the movie to tell you who Sun Yat-sen is, which means you are not really its target audience. This is Chinese cinema going back to its good old roots of tapping into the collective memory of its blood-stained history-- and digging out a few more shades of gray.

Just had the pleasure of watching this, I had heard good things about it and when it popped up on a torrent site I leaped at the chance. Please note, I don't support piracy and downloading, but since this is not available stateside yet my options are limited. Needless to say, this one is a buy for sure on DVD, hopefully there will be a blu ray release with good subtitles at some point. This is a star studded period action film about the assassination attempt of Dr Sun Yat Sen in Hong Kong. The first hour of this movie is entirely about setting up the characters, making you understand them and care about them. In fact there is only one action scene in the first hour, which existed to drive the plot and define the motivation of the woman who would become one of the bodyguards. Don't worry, the kung fu awesomeness will begin, the entire second half of the movie is one very well done action sequence after another. But the set up really matters here, it is very engaging and later on when all these characters come together to protect Dr Sen, you care about each one and when some die, you feel it. The acting is excellent all around, many of the actors are major stars, such as Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Leon Lai, and Tony Leung Ka Fai, but the film is an ensemble piece and each star disappears into their character, many of whom are playing against type. The action is top notch, as expected with Donnie Yen's involvement. Yen has a brutal fight with Cung Le that involves some very nice choreography and some parkour action as well. All of these scenes are enhanced by the fact that you care quite a bit if this character lives or dies. My only complaint would be the villain, played by Red Cliff's Jun Hu. I felt his character was a little over the top, I would have liked him to have been more in control. But it is a minor quibble in a film with a great many strengths. I highly recommend this one, check it out.

First of all, I'm not familiar with Chinese history, so I wouldn't say anything about its historical bases. Still, this movie worth the time with no doubt. No matter where you live.

Powerful, logical and heartbreaking. I say powerful because we got a well painted picture about the main characters in the first half. Yes, the movie does not only focus on the high profile action scenes and blood. That's one of its strengths. The audience - this time it's me - had enough time to acquaint the persons and like them. For this reason losing some of them is a heartbreaking effect in the second half. I think it's not a spoiler. Anyone can guess it who has seen the trailer. The acting is OK (some actors were great, especially Xueqi Wang) but my opinion is that the script and the director have done this movie for that it is. I really enjoyed that the movie has avoid to use mindless clichés, like ultimate fight of good vs. evil. The main bad character had also deep conviction that he has been doing the right thing for his country/highness. As it is so, for me, he was authentic in his role.

Now there's only one word has to be explained - logical. Unfortunately I can't do it without revealing some moments from the story, so I leave it to you. Find it out yourself. If you like heroic tales, you should love it.

I hope this movie will be released on DVD in my country, too.