Shi yue wei cheng

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 have seen every major Chinese film over the last forty years and I have lived and worked in China for over a decade. I know a little about China. This film, of course, has little to do with the actual events of the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and the ascendancy of Sun Yat-Sen. However, it does capture the emotion involved by the true Chinese revolutionaries of the time. The Chinese Revoluton predated the well-known (to the West) Russian Revolution of 1917, which has been dramatized in dozens of films in the West; most notably Reds and Dr. Zhivago. However, few Westerners know anything about the Great Chinese Revolution that ended over 3000 years of dynastic rule in China. This makes the Russian Revolution look like a current even by comparison. Millions of lives were lost in the Russian Revolution, but tens of millions of lives were lost in the Chinese Revolution. The film is loaded with action; too much action and gore according to several responsible reviewers. This would appeal to some, but many will be turned off by the excessive violence and unlikely scenarios. Despite these drawbacks, the film arrests your attention, and the several fine character performances draw you into the film until it's Shakespearian ending (not everybody dies like in Hamlet, but close to it). The movie is beautifully directed and the technical achievements are first-rate. The film makes The Wild Bunch look like a Disney Movie in comparison. Several of the other gigantic blockbuster action films of China also pale in comparison, such as Red Cliff, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and several others. In battle scenes of those films, the killing is impersonal and the audience has little emotional attachment to the combatants. That is not true in this film, however. The audience gets to know several of the bodyguards through various devices used by the director. And so, their battle scenes have much more significance; much like the characters in The Magnificent Seven. A good lesson on Chinese History as long as you do not take the action sequences as fact.

The film was well made, and Hong Kong was restored to be very real at that time, and the characterization was also very full. The role of Sun Wen is the most innovative, almost all indirect description, but every stroke is in place. There were two times when tears almost fell down. They were all the roles played by Nicholas Tse. The simple and single-minded man really moved me most.

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.

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.