This is the Chinese version of Japanese movie Eleven Samurai. Band of six assassins are sent to kill brother of emperor who killed theirs boss who were trying to defend few peasants. Emperor's brother can't be prosecuted for his crime and the whole clan should suffer because of theirs boss offended emperor's relative. One member of clan convince authority to postpone the verdict of informal court for one month and thats the time-frame for assassins kill the emperors brother who is heading to visit emperor in major city. There is not so much fighting scenes and swordsmanship is really poor here. Although it is standard Chinese swordplay movie and the story is good.
3 Reviews
Here's a villain that needs a killin'
ckormos110 March 2019
First of all I corrected the plot summary as below. I have never done this before so will see if it sticks.
The emperor's brother is out of control and extending the boundaries of his holdings by moving border markers and demanding taxation from peasants. One lord tries to stop him and quickly ends up dead. All his men want revenge but the brother of the emperor seems untouchable by law and by martial arts.
Now for my review: It starts with a murder but revenge gets complicated when the emperor's brother is the murderer. That is good for the audience though as it requires a plot with a one month deadline, fake deaths, new identities, and a hot kung fu chick.
The lead actor Ling Yun started in Taiwan as a dramatic actor. At Shaw Brothers he continued that genre until 1969 "Twin Blades of Doom" where he played the title character. Despite no martial arts skills he displayed good speed and power in his initial movie. I rated the fights all above average for the year and genre. This continued with 1970 "The Iron Buddha" despite the silly hat he wore. Once into the action he remained in those type movies for the rest of his career until a few ninja movies in the 1980s brought an end to the golden age of martial arts movies.
But back to the beginning. Typically the drama in these movies is filler material. That's not the case here. The opening scene establishes a totally unlikeable bad guy that the audience just wants to punch in the face. Kao Ming maintains that throughout the movie.
The fights in this movie are frequent and short. This is a good technique to use for non-martial artist lead actors. It works best when the actor can demonstrate power and focus and Ling Yun pulls it off for the most part.
This movie is unlikely to be on any fans top twenty list but I recommend it as solid from start to finish and just above average for the year and genre.
Now for my review: It starts with a murder but revenge gets complicated when the emperor's brother is the murderer. That is good for the audience though as it requires a plot with a one month deadline, fake deaths, new identities, and a hot kung fu chick.
The lead actor Ling Yun started in Taiwan as a dramatic actor. At Shaw Brothers he continued that genre until 1969 "Twin Blades of Doom" where he played the title character. Despite no martial arts skills he displayed good speed and power in his initial movie. I rated the fights all above average for the year and genre. This continued with 1970 "The Iron Buddha" despite the silly hat he wore. Once into the action he remained in those type movies for the rest of his career until a few ninja movies in the 1980s brought an end to the golden age of martial arts movies.
But back to the beginning. Typically the drama in these movies is filler material. That's not the case here. The opening scene establishes a totally unlikeable bad guy that the audience just wants to punch in the face. Kao Ming maintains that throughout the movie.
The fights in this movie are frequent and short. This is a good technique to use for non-martial artist lead actors. It works best when the actor can demonstrate power and focus and Ling Yun pulls it off for the most part.
This movie is unlikely to be on any fans top twenty list but I recommend it as solid from start to finish and just above average for the year and genre.
The Ling Yun Show...
poe42622 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers
SIX ASSASSINS follows the efforts of Mu Jin-jia (Ling Yun) as he attempts to stop the depredations of the Emperor's brother, the dastardly Lord Li Ming. Under the guidance of Minister Ruan, Mu assembles a team of assassins to put an end to Li Ming's aforementioned depredations. Things don't quite work out as Mu and company had planned (for one thing, his wife, Shu-hui, is brutally murdered along the way, the kind of thing that can really cramp your style when you're looking to take down a tyrant) and Minister Ruan is kicked to the curb by royal edict and murdered. With the aid of Lily Li, Mu finally corners and dispenses with Li Ming. As with Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI, Mu's men don't fare too well. By film's end, only Lily Li is left standing alongside Mu atop a mountain as they remember the dead (who we see in flashbacks). All in all, worth seeing.
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