Caution: very minor spoilers contained.
I went to the premiere this afternoon to pass some leisure hours with no expectation to be impressed. Surprisingly enough, "Reign of Assassins" (Jian Yu) turned out to be such an action-packed, romantic and gripping entertainment. Some absurd dialogs and an awkward cast won't stand in the way for its being the best Chinese wuxia (Martial Arts/Kungfu) movie since "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon".
Those who claim that this movie is a Chinese tribute to "Mr.and Mrs. Smith" must be kidding--reason being: 1, Michelle Yeoh is not funny; 2, Michelle Yeoh is uncool though she knows Kungfu; 3, Michelle Yeoh and her husband in the movie are self-employed, much more advanced than the Smiths...though much more underprivileged.
Believe me, if John Woo has any intention of paying tribute to an American movie, it must be "Godfather". "Reign of Assassins" perfectly drives home the idea "just when I thought I was out, you pulled me back in". In this movie, everyone is unhappy about their miserable lifestyles, they are so resentful of "Jianghu" (a not quite precise translation would be: the world of swordsmen) that they want to finish the last assignment and go for a seclusive life without face book, blogspot, twitter,and you tube just like the life in modern China. (Yay!)So each one is trying desperately to find a way to end this. Some choose to undergo a plastic surgery and move to the depths of the country, while this poor guy just wishes to get his "thing" back so that he can have a normal sex life
After a tapestry of wire-dangling, shallow-minded and boring Chinese wuxia movies that have proved to be pure disappointment, John Woo has finally come up with something both entertaining and educational!
Here's what I learned from the movie: 1. Plastic surgery is deadly risky. It can turn an ordinary-looking guy into Woo-sung Jung but can also disfigure a good-looking lady who ends up being 20 years older and more than 20 times uglier. 2. Girls beware: if a man who speaks with an unnaturally coarse voice and whose mustache always stays nicely trimmed, he could have been castrated. 3. The coolest way to die is eating a bowl of noodles quietly after being stabbed all over your body 4. Go practice Kungfu, it'll bring your "manhood" back...even if you don't have one! 5.If an unfamiliar woman appears on your bed totally naked, pick up her clothes and run to your neighborhood and shout out loud:"Come and take a look! I've got a lunatic on my bed." 6.If you wake up in the morning and can't remember how you fell asleep last night, your wife could be a hitwoman.
There's something really bothered me: why Woo made Barbie Hsu repeatedly take off her clothes in this movie? Although it is palpable that her character is a weird nympho, it is still annoying, because every time she did this I knew I wouldn't see anything! I wanted to rush into her room, slap across her face and warn her: "Stop this!You know you can't make it! Don't you know we have media censorship in China? Plus, you're not sexy!"
These may sound a bit weird, but you'll know what I was talking about after watching this fall's must-see!
My rating: 7/10
I went to the premiere this afternoon to pass some leisure hours with no expectation to be impressed. Surprisingly enough, "Reign of Assassins" (Jian Yu) turned out to be such an action-packed, romantic and gripping entertainment. Some absurd dialogs and an awkward cast won't stand in the way for its being the best Chinese wuxia (Martial Arts/Kungfu) movie since "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon".
Those who claim that this movie is a Chinese tribute to "Mr.and Mrs. Smith" must be kidding--reason being: 1, Michelle Yeoh is not funny; 2, Michelle Yeoh is uncool though she knows Kungfu; 3, Michelle Yeoh and her husband in the movie are self-employed, much more advanced than the Smiths...though much more underprivileged.
Believe me, if John Woo has any intention of paying tribute to an American movie, it must be "Godfather". "Reign of Assassins" perfectly drives home the idea "just when I thought I was out, you pulled me back in". In this movie, everyone is unhappy about their miserable lifestyles, they are so resentful of "Jianghu" (a not quite precise translation would be: the world of swordsmen) that they want to finish the last assignment and go for a seclusive life without face book, blogspot, twitter,and you tube just like the life in modern China. (Yay!)So each one is trying desperately to find a way to end this. Some choose to undergo a plastic surgery and move to the depths of the country, while this poor guy just wishes to get his "thing" back so that he can have a normal sex life
After a tapestry of wire-dangling, shallow-minded and boring Chinese wuxia movies that have proved to be pure disappointment, John Woo has finally come up with something both entertaining and educational!
Here's what I learned from the movie: 1. Plastic surgery is deadly risky. It can turn an ordinary-looking guy into Woo-sung Jung but can also disfigure a good-looking lady who ends up being 20 years older and more than 20 times uglier. 2. Girls beware: if a man who speaks with an unnaturally coarse voice and whose mustache always stays nicely trimmed, he could have been castrated. 3. The coolest way to die is eating a bowl of noodles quietly after being stabbed all over your body 4. Go practice Kungfu, it'll bring your "manhood" back...even if you don't have one! 5.If an unfamiliar woman appears on your bed totally naked, pick up her clothes and run to your neighborhood and shout out loud:"Come and take a look! I've got a lunatic on my bed." 6.If you wake up in the morning and can't remember how you fell asleep last night, your wife could be a hitwoman.
There's something really bothered me: why Woo made Barbie Hsu repeatedly take off her clothes in this movie? Although it is palpable that her character is a weird nympho, it is still annoying, because every time she did this I knew I wouldn't see anything! I wanted to rush into her room, slap across her face and warn her: "Stop this!You know you can't make it! Don't you know we have media censorship in China? Plus, you're not sexy!"
These may sound a bit weird, but you'll know what I was talking about after watching this fall's must-see!
My rating: 7/10