THE ASSASSINS (2012)

Directed by Linshan Zhao, Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Liu Yi Fei, Tamaki Hiroshi, Historical Drama, China, 2012, 103mins approx, cert 15.
Released in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD by Universal Pictures (UK) on the 9^th September 2013

First-time director Zhao’s historic tale opens underground with an ant scrabbling towards the surface to investigate a disturbance in the earth above. The cause is a young boy and girl running to escape the clutches of horse-back riders. Both are swiftly captured and find themselves herded into a vast cavernous ‘place with no sunlight’ together with scores of other children. There they will spend years being mercilessly trained to be assassins. As time passes, our two ant-disturbers Mu Shun (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Ling Ju (Liu Yi Fei) grow up to become lovers. But the course of true love most certainly does not run smooth. Ling Ju is (somewhat unwillingly) castrated and Mu Shun is dispatched to the Bronze Sparrow Tower to become the concubine of Chancellor Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat) – “the most powerful man in the world” – the man they have unknowingly been training all those years to assassinate...

I cannot lie, my knowledge of this period in Chinese history - known as the ‘Three Kingdoms’ - was (and still largely is) non-existent. It’s by no means a prerequisite in order to enjoy the film, but you will need to pause and rewind the end title cards of historical facts which flash up so quickly that they’re impossible to read on first sight.

What isn’t possible to miss is the superb Chow Yun Fat. The film sets out to portray the infamous warlord Cao Cao in a more sympathetic light than in previous incarnations, and Chow Yun Fat’s performance is subtle, majestic and mesmerising. In fact he is so good in the role, that the scenes in which he doesn’t feature seem relatively flat in comparison.
In this version Cao Cao is painted as a man tired of bloodshed and war, and one trying to bind the kingdoms together. Unfortunately, practically everyone else is out to assassinate him (hence the film’s title). Despite this, action is rather thin on the ground, although there is an incredible sequence involving assassins rapidly firing harpoon-like arrows to create a criss-cross bridge of rope from which they trampoline into the fortress. Thankfully there isn’t any of that invisible space hopper bouncing that frankly leaves me cold, although there is a scene where you might momentarily believe a horse can fly...

This then is a film which relies more on the drama of political intrigue than violence and bombast, and cinematographer Zhao Xiao Ding provides stunning visuals to complement the narrative. From snow-covered plains to blizzard filled courtyards, from cavernous caves to shadow enshrouded chambers – there is always something for the eye to feast upon.

Unfortunately the remaining cast aren’t given quite so much to get their teeth into, and the subplots - particularly that of the young assassin lovers – fizzle rather than explode. It’s still an engrossing film, but ultimately it feels like director Zhao has held back too many barrels of gunpowder in reserve.

*** (out of 5*)

Paul Worts