Qingtian jie yi hao

Part comedy, part supernatural thriller, part crime film, this is a weird mix. The direction is good, with some excellently choreographed fight scenes, and the acting is good. The different genres actually come togethor well, due to a good story line, and the whole film is well constructed,

This is an interesting variant on the standard hitman film, introducing a metaphysical twist that drives the plot and helps keep the story interesting.

Cinematically it's a very professional production but didn't distinguish itself at any point. One scene did sadly suffer the 'repeat this one stunt four times from different angles in slow motion' so beloved of Asian cinema but most of the film avoided that trope and portrayed credible action scenes that added energy and delivered pay-offs for the slower conversational elements.

Where the film did disappoint was a specific fight scene, in which previously demonstrated skill, reflexes, agility and strength are abandoned for plot reasons. Sorry but that's lazy film making.

It's a shame, and it did damage the review score I've given, because much of the film was better than that, and because of that I can recommend it to people that aren't scared of subtitles (or indeed, speak the language of the actors).

In particular one scene early in the film caught me completely by surprise, and left me highly entertained. Innovation, excellent acting from Hsiao-chuan Chang and overall I'm happy I spent the time watching this.