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5.0 out of 5 starsMartial arts film, with tragic romance and political machinations
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2022
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The cinema photography is excellent. The martial arts fight scenes are stunning and some of the best I've ever seen. All held together with a credible if somewhat confusing and unclear plot and a romantic tragedy. I consider this to be one of the best martial arts films I've seen in a while. Highly recommended.
I loved the story, Action, Scenery & attention to Detail in this film.
Orphaned children thrown into mini Arena's by the chinese Emperor & told to fight each other to the death, to survive another day, day in & day out. Untill, they reach a certain point where they are deemed worthy of Assassin training.
Donnie Yen is the loyal, Elite Assassin, continually haunted by his experiences as a child, where he had to kill his own little brother in the Arena.
The story takes off when the Emperor is betrayed. The Assassins are then sent on a mission that goes wrong, leaving only one of them left & badly wounded. The enemy is in hot pursuit & Donnie takes refuge with a group of Nomadic, Caravan Escorts, who dont know who he is. But soon will. (I dont want to say too much).
There are a few other Mystical Characters in this film & the action scenes are Amazing. The girl just has to have sold her soul to the Devil to be able to do what she does & the young fella's skills are swift & magical aswell.
I totally agree with `Chinatown Blues` comments on this film and it is very much like a Shakespearean romantic tragedy, having depth rather than the `wam bam thank u mam` type of martial arts films.
Good historical references to the Jinyi Wei, the governments secret police at the time and who Donnie Yen is the leader of.
Donnie Yen performs well in this sword play feature although I found it a bit hard to follow, not his best film I don't think and doubt if I would watch it again hence 3 stars.