REIGN OF ASSASSINS
DVD. Entertainment One.

It's taken a couple of years for Reign of Assassins to hit the UK, and I suspect it won't have the same impact as other wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of Flying Daggers. That's no fault of the film itself, beyond a fairly uninspired title – but mainstream audiences are a fickle bunch.

The film – which was rather confusing credits that list Su Chao-pin as writer and director, but have John Woo as 'co-director' – stars Michelle Yeoh as the unfortunately named Drizzle, a deadly assassin in the Ming Dynasty-era Dark Stone gang who decided enough is enough, books herself in for face-changing surgery (which involves flesh-eating insects inserted into the nose – hey, no-one said this was realistic!) and takes on a new identity in a small village, where she meets and marries Ah-Seng (Jung Woo-sung). Unfortunately, she also holds the secret of the location of a dead monk, who's bones are said to hold great power, and her former colleagues soon track her down and force her to rejoin the group.

Reign of Assassins is visually stunning, with great action moments from the get-go, but the actual story takes a while to develop, and the first part of the film is a bit of a confused mess, with characters barely introduced and someone having both too much and too little taking place at the same time. It seems to lack focus. But a curious thing happens, and as the film continues, the story slowly develops a sense of coherence, the pacing evens out and the characters actually become more believable (within the context of a whacked-out martial arts fantasy, that is). Certainly, you can perhaps see the Woo influence as the film builds to a grand finale that is heavy on melodrama and mayhem, ultimately revealing itself as a tragic romance with a satisfying character twist in the final act.

The fight scenes are slick and stylish, the comedy rather subtle by Chinese standards, and the characters sympathetic – even the bad guys are driven by their own desperation rather than a mere lust for power. And while the performances, surprisingly, seem a little flat sometimes, the all-important martial arts scenes are impeccably handled.

If your only experience of the genre is from the blockbusters mentioned earlier, then Reign of Assassins might seem a little weak in comparison. Genre enthusiasts, on the other hand, should find much to enjoy here.

DAVID FLINT

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