Le règne des assassins

The Dark Stone gang is tracing the remains of a Buddhist priest, because the rumour is that the person who owns those remains will rule over the kung fu world. One of the assassins kills the person who owns half of the corpse, and then makes off with it, thereby betraying her gang. She then meets Wisdom, a martial arts master turned monk, who teaches her that her deed was wrong; she therefore seeks a physician who can change her face for her, turning her into Zeng Jing (the lovely Michelle Yeoh). In her new identity, she becomes a fabric merchant in the big city, where she meets and falls in love with messenger Jiang A-sheng (Woo-sung Jung); soon they marry and appear to have a tranquil life together. But all is not as it seems; not only is Zeng Jing not who she says she is, but neither is Jiang A-sheng, and in the meantime her old gang, among others, continues to search for their erstwhile companion - and the remains of the monk....

This 2010 film was Michelle Yeoh's first wuxia film since the acclaimed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and she is as beautiful and graceful as ever, playing a rather complex character who is adept at hiding who she really is, yet capable of sincerely falling in love even when she's, perhaps first and foremost, a killer. The martial arts fights are amazing, but never silly-looking, and the supporting characters are all well-drawn, including a young woman brought into the gang to take Zeng Jing's place, a "magician" who uses both martial arts and magic to defeat his enemies, and the leader of the Dark Stone gang, a eunuch who wants nothing more than to be a "real man," yet who is more skilled a fighter then all of them. Must of this story takes place in city-scapes and at night, so we don't have the lovely landscapes sometimes seen in historical martial arts films, but with Yeoh illuminating the screen with her graceful presence, who needs mere trees and mountains?

Ten years ago, Lee Ang's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" breathed new life into the 'wuxia' genre and opened up the world of Chinese cinema to mainstream Western audiences. Had "Reign of Assassins" arrived ten years earlier, it could have very well have achieved the same groundbreaking success as Lee Ang's classic, for make no mistake- this dazzling martial arts epic ranks among one of the best of its kind.

In writer/director Su Chao-Pin's ancient China- as told over an enchanting animated sequence- there are different sects of assassins after the ancient remains of a mystical Indian monk. Among the most deadly are a squad known as the Dark Stone, led by the formidable and distinctively raspy-voiced Wheel King (Wang Xueqi). Drizzle (Kelly Lin) is the most powerful member of the squad, but she has had enough of her life of killing and goes under the knife to emerge as Zeng Jing (Michelle Yeoh).

Just the names of the characters will do well to convince you that this is pure fantasy, but while the world may be make-believe, the characters within them are firmly grounded. Su's script takes its time in the first hour to set up the romance between Zeng Jing and messenger boy Jiang Ah-Sheng (Korean star Jung Woo-sung)- their courtship unfolding with a gentle touch of humour and more than a hint of the film's title - as well as their subsequent married life. Audiences waiting for some action will have to be a bit more patient, as Su wants his audience to get to know his characters well and gives them time to grow on you.

It is almost a good hour into the film by the time Wheel King and his gang of assassins- Lei Bin (Shawn Yue), the Magician (Leon Dai) and Zhan Qing (Barbie Hsu)- track down Zeng Jing on their quest to find the remains. Yet the care and attention to detail that Su pays to each one of his characters pays off beautifully in the second half. Refusing to cast his characters as black-and-white heroes and villains, Su gives each a back-story that blends slickly into the various circumstances the plot throws them into. And in between the balletic action choreographed by Hong Kong's Tung Wai, Su draws on the relationships among the various characters for some intriguing drama- especially the dynamics between Zeng Jing, Wheel King and his three fellow assassins.

It is this tight characterisation that holds the second half of the film together. While the plot in the first half may seem "Mr and Mrs Smith" simplistic in its portrayal of a married couple unaware of the other's past, the second half of the film is anything but. Unfolding with twists and turns, it builds on an engaging first hour to become even more absorbing, culminating in a breathtaking and ultimately touching emotional finish that reaffirms the power of love to overcome hatred and vengeance and self-sacrifice.

Though Su's film is heavy on drama, it also delivers on the action where it matters. Tung Wai avoids any pretentious visual effects in favour of old-school wire-ful swordplay in all its grace and poeticism- though he does use modern-day technology to throw in some nifty moves like bending swords and flying needles in slo-mo. The very first confrontation between Zeng and her enemies in her house is enough to set your pulse racing, and Tung Wai tops that with another equally, if not more, thrilling fight in her house later on and a two-way fight in an open courtyard. Su is less of a director of action films (his filmography reads the 2002 comedy "Better than Sex" and the 2006 horror film "Silk"), so the fact that the action sequences in here have turned out well must have been due in part to producer John Woo's participation as co-director.

Woo's involvement has also ensured the excellent cast assembled here. Michelle Yeoh's role in this film is a welcome return to form for the actress that has not had such a meaty role tailor-made for her since Lee Ang's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Her natural beauty and elegance complements Zeng Jing's graceful assassin perfectly and serves as a good foil against co-star Jung Woo-sung's rugged handsomeness. Yeoh and Jung also share great chemistry, and it is firmly to their credit that the film ends on a deeply poignant note.

Like the best of its genre, "Reign of Assassins" has all the ingredients for a modern-day 'wuxia' classic- tight characterisation, compelling drama and exciting action topped with fantasy elements. Su Chao-pin and John Woo have created a genre classic ten years after Lee Ang's masterpiece and it is a thrilling and poignant experience worthy of the best martial arts epics.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a legend about the mystical powers of the missing remains of an Indian Buddhist monk that would be capable to heal anything and would become a great kung-fu fighter.

When the leader of the Dark Stone gang Cao Feng (Xueqi Wang) discovers that Prime Minister Zhang possesses half of the powerful remains, he sends a team of assassins to kill the minister and his son Zhang Renfeng (Xiaodong Guo). However, the skilled Xi Yu (Kelly Lin) flees with the remains and kills Renfeng, who fall off a bridge in a river. Then Xi Yu meets the monk Wisdom that advises her that she has four flaws fighting with her sword and she might be killed by Cao Feng that has trained her.

Xi Yu goes to the renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Li that changes her face and she decides to start a new life in a small village. She assumes the identity of Zeng Jing (Michelle Yeoh) and poses of merchant, and soon she marries the quiet and clumsy Jiang A-sheng (Woo-sung Jung). When there is a robbery in the local bank, Zeng Jing is forced to fight to protect her and her husband from being killed, disclosing her skills to Cao Feng. Now he sends Lei Bin (Shawn Yue), Lian Sheng (Leon Dai) and Ye Zhanqing (Barbie Hsu), who are his three best assassins, to retrieve the remains and kill Zeng Jing and her beloved husband.

The talented Michelle Yeoh is one of the most beautiful Chinese actresses and her movies are usually great. In "Jianyu", a.k.a. "Reign of Assassins", we have not only Michelle Yeoh, but also the hands of John Woo. The result is a great film of the genre, with predictable but not less engaging twists and a romantic conclusion.

The choreography of sword fights is breathtaking and the music score is wonderful. Fans of the genre will certainly adore the awarded "Jianyu". My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Reino dos Assassinos" ("Reign of the Assassins")

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.

As the story goes, a group of assassins called Dark Stone, led by Wheel King (Wang Xueqi) has come into possession of half those remains, but Kelly Lin's Drizzle took flight with that and plenty of gold to become a fugitive of her own group – Leon Dai as The Magician, Shawn Yue as Lei Bin and new rookie Zhang Qing (Barbie Tsu) who had joined the team. In a Face/Off turn, she goes under the knife and now has the face of Michelle Yeoh (whoa!), living in disguise in the city, flying below the radar and effectively living the simple, ordinary life she yearns for, with absolutely no need for picking up the sword, though always kept handy at home just in case trouble comes knocking.

The pan-Asia A-list cast is something that will draw attention to the film, coming from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Korea. It's been some time since I last saw a wuxia film that featured a female swordsman as the lead, and being the anti-heroine at that as well. Starting off as a killer, Michelle Yeoh's Zeng Jing is unfortunately dubbed over, though I suspect for a valid reason that we'll have to live with in this film. In fact, more than one more character has voice issues that I cannot elaborate, and when revealed you'd start to wonder whether martial arts films can ever distance itself from that kind of villain from the courts, which is rather clichéd. Yeoh will undoubtedly bring comparisons with her other famous martial arts role from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, although here Barbie Hsu's no Zhang Ziyi to steal that thunder or limelight, being cast as a psychotic nymphomaniac with a penchant to shed her clothes in the hope of climbing the power ladder (sorry guys, no nudity involved).

What shines in this film is the rich characterization beyond the usual one-dimensional characters in most martial arts flick, which gives the viewer a richer experience as we get emotionally invested in the plight of the characters. Everyone seems to want a way out of their usual kill or be killed drudgery, though it's one thing leaving the Jiang Hu altogether and retire, and another if you actually belong to a gang of bandits and assassins where your ex- buddies just won't leave you alone. The story allowed for any available screen time to pause for a while to present the other, ordinary side of the characters where we see their hopes and dreams, whether be it settling down, gaining some worldly possession.

I had initially wondered why Wang Xueqi was cast since he's an incredible actor but had little to do in the first half of the film other than to look mean and nasty, but then realized that you need an actor of gravitas to pull off what he did in the latter half of the film, which in the hands of a lesser actor could have been really comical. Instead he brought that sense of an obsessed man whose desperate for what's almost an impossible change or dream, which form the crux of all misery. The other actor to be admired here is Korean actor Jung Woo-sung who plays a courier and falls in love with Zeng Jing. Spending time to ensure he learns his Mandarin dialogue as accurately as possible so that when dubbed over it will look convincing, I will have to agree that he pulled it off, and his good looks fit right into this period piece with some surprises up the sleeve.

Action fans will have something to look forward to in the film, as it spends time crafting kinetically charged sword-fighting scenes which at times I felt the quick cuts didn't do those choreographed moves much justice. However everyone pretty much battles everyone else, which accentuates the good old wuxia adage of it being perfectly normal if self-preservation happens to be the order of the day. Throw in motivations of revenge, lust (though very subtle) and jealousy especially with two women characters sharing the same scene, we know we're in for a good time, especially when the story's kept tight and compact. Some wonderful set action pieces like the one in the bank and the disturbance at home all make for good entertainment, and clearly with John Woo absent from giving his two cents worth in these scenes (no slow motions if you get what I mean), though not always necessarily for the better as the quick cuts sometimes get in the way of appreciating the hard work gone behind the designing of such battles, which are wire-enhanced.

At its core Reign of Assassins is a romantic tale steeped in tragic irony, with martial arts film fans likely to lap up an out and out fantastical wuxia film. Almost all the characters have a past they want to cease remembering, and are harbouring plans for a new life sans violence. Love of course plays a part in the determination of this second chance, but this calls for sacrifice that we see once enemies now lovers have got to embrace as they decide to come clean with their feelings, alongside twists that get revealed especially in the final act.

Compared to Detective Dee this may not seem as epic nor groundbreaking in terms of offering something new to an audience, but it is essentially its sublime essence in knowing what's critical in a wuxia film and doing that well, at times giving you that feeling of having watched a classic martial arts film of old now remade with a stellar cast and knowing how best to appeal to a modern audience. Highly recommended and it powers its way into my shortlist at the end of the year as well.