Diagonaldi Very well executed

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Tweekums An opening prologue tells of Bodhi, an Indian monk, whose mummified remains are rumoured to grant great power. Half of the remains were in the possession of the Prime Minister until taken by Dark Stone gang. They don't have it for long as their top assassin, a woman called Drizzle, takes it from them. Not that long afterwards she decides to give up the life of an assassin and visits a surgeon who changes her appearance. She then heads to the capital and becomes a cloth merchant. Here she forms a relationship with, and ultimately marries, Ah-sheng. Their life won't be as peaceful as she hope though; it is only a matter of time before the Dark Stone find her and conflict will inevitably ensue.If you are a fan of wuxia films then this one is definitely worth watching. The plot isn't overly complicated but there are still some nice twists. The action, and there is plenty of it, is brilliantly choreographed with lots of sword fights. Michelle Yeoh is on great form as post-surgery Drizzle and Woo-sung Jung provides solid support as Ah-sheng. There are also impressive villains; most notably Xueqi Wang, who plays the leader of the Dark Stone, and Barbie Hsu who plays a particularly vicious assassin who had previously killed her husband and his parents on her wedding night! Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre; I'm surprised that it isn't better known.

X Boy Reign of Assassins could be a sequel to international sensation 'Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragon', also starring Michelle Yeoh. It has many elements which resemble to the story of CTHD. A untamed female warrior who was changed because of love reminds very much of phenomenal CTHD.Over all movie is very entertaining, action sequences are very well choreographed. The suspense is well kept and story progresses with interest. However character development is weak. Chemistry between both leads could have been better. The romance which we see in the end could not blossom in the start. Perhaps Michelle Yeoh could have work on her passionate expressions. Rest of the cast did their job very well.Cinematography and editing is good. It could be felt that an American handled much of movie's work as the story paces very fast even though it was set in old times. Added action has taken much of the movie's soul out which is common with John Woo's movies.A good entertainer with blend of fast pacing story and brilliant wushu action.

Bernard Sinai Filmed in China and set in the Ming Dynasty, this 2010 film stars Michelle Yeoh as Drizzle, an assassin with the Dark Stone Clan led by the their mysterious leader Wheel King (Wang Xueqi). Along with her comrades Lei Bin (Shawn Yue) and Magician (Leon Dai), they steal the mummified remains of Bodhi, an Indian monk supposedly with magical powers. However, Drizzle steals the mummy and flees where she encounters the monk Wisdom (Li Zonghan).In his efforts to enlighten her, Wisdom allows her to kill him. This cause Drizzle to become grief stricken and finally decides to leave her former life for a 'fresh start'.

tech_ctrl Reign of Assassins is a delightfully well made wuxia movie which will offer those familiar with previous entries in the genre everything they would expect; from vibrant visuals to elegantly choreographed swordplay and the fair share of melodrama which has become an integral part of this genre. I won't dive into plot details because there aren't a whole lot of them for me spend here, the plot synopsis which is provided on this site and others should give any viewer a good idea about the movies proceedings.Director Su Chao-Pin and veteran filmmaker John Woo exhibit considerable command when juggling the films tone between dramatic seriousness and lighthearted romance whilst ensuring smooth transitions between the two and creating an equilibrium between exposition and action with none overshadowing the other. Actress Michelle Yeoh remains as charismatic as ever while playing the lead role with confidence and effectiveness and contributes greatly to the movies more dramatic scenes.Overall, fans and familiars of the genre are guaranteed a great time with Reign of Assassins, those who do not enjoy wuxias in general should steer clear of this one as well.