Audience Member
When it comes to period Asian movies, most spoil us with amazing sets, near-magical combat techniques, complex plots and whatnot.
This movie has stellar costume design, but as the main characters are a tired warlord, a weak emperor and a fair maiden trained solely to kill the warlord who's doubting her ability to do her one sole goal in life, the story is probably more suited for the stage than the theatre.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
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Audience Member
Review:
This us another one of those confusing Oriental movies that are hard to follow but the main concept is quite simple, everyone wants to murder Cao Cao (Chow Yun-Fat). There's also a love story running throughout the movie which is pretty straight forward but the rest of the storyline, went straight over my head. When the true reason, why Cao Cao is so evil, is revealed, I honestly didn't understand what the movie was truly about but it scores top marks for authenticity and cinematography, like many of the other Oriental movies I have watched lately. The costumes are truly amazing, especially Cao Cao's detailed armour and I'm happy to say that the DVD carries a dubbed version, so you don't have to worry about annoying subtitles. The action scenes were also impressive because they seemed real for that day and age but I really don't know why the director had to over complicate the storyline. Anyway, it's a watchable film, mainly for the great performance from Yun-Fat and the fear that he put in the people around him but the ending was a right mess. Watchable!ÂÂ
Round-Up:
This is the only movie directed by Linshan Zhao so it's hard to compare her other projects to this one but the writer, Bin Wang, also wrote House of Flying Daggers and Hero with Jet Li. I'm beginning to realise that a lot of these Oriental directors, certainly like to over complicate there movies with pointless detail which is, usually unnecessary. Maybe it's because I'm used to basic concepts from the Western market, why I'm finding it hard to get to grips with the these detailed storylines and I must admit, my mind does switch off once I have to read subtitles and try and keep up with movies. Anyway, I was expecting this to be an action movie, with a name like the Assassin's but it turned out to be an intense drama which I'm am in two minds about.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their history/drama starring Chow Yun-Fat, Yifei Liu, Xinyi Zhang and Hiroshi Tamaki. 5/10
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Even Chow Yun Fat cannot save the movie with his magnetic star power. The same with the beauty of Yifei Liu, who narrates the film. Chow plays Cao Cao, and everyone wants him dead. The emperor, his own son, and a secret cabal that has raised assassins since childhood with one goal, to kill General Cao Cao. You'd think a movie with this much intrigue and subterfuge would be exciting, but is not. Barely anything happens in the movie, characters are present and they talk, but there's no action. There are two brief action sequences, might as well not even be there. Nameless soldiers fight assassins, there's no suspense or stakes and the movie fizzles out in a dull whimper. Despite its lush set design, costumes, and star power, The Assassins is a period piece misfire.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
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Audience Member
So?, I'm not sure if someone suggested this for me to watch on Netflix or if they just wanted me to watch it....but this was pretty bad. I like taking a chance though every now and then and expanding my viewing log. There's only a couple of things though that I come away thinking after watching this one.
1. Chinese film makers DO NOT believe in the theory of gravity or the basics of Physics. I saw people flying through the air because they pulled hard on a rope and a whole bunch of other stupid stuff.
2. Bad guys like to rape. If you're the bad guy, you must rape someone. It's science...wait, they don't like science.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
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Audience Member
A great Chinese historical drama
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
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Audience Member
Decent take on the last years of Cao Cao.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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