Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Console
best movie i've ever seen.
Suman Roberson
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
ibarrf
Well I must admit I was misled by the Title of the movie and was expecting an action flick, still I watched the whole thing and was very disappointed. In my opinion "The Assassin" tries to be too many things at once; it tries to have action in it but fights are short and few (if well choreographed), it tries to be a drama but it never made me care enough for any of the characters or what happens to them and finally it actually provokes amazement and wonder with it's locations and general cinematography, but sadly it's not enough to make the movie entertaining. It felt more like a 2 hr slideshow of landscapes than a movie. I know there are people that will appreciate it in some way, but I'm sure they studied cinematography or are related to the subject in some way, the rest of us will find it slow and boring, no matter how visually beautiful it may be.
namsohanta
I love martial arts movies. Always have. And there are some great ones out there: Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers etc The Assassin can not in any way be classed as a great movie - only because of the ridiculous slow pace. There's slow, and then there's this. It's cringeworthy how slow it is in places. I even, on occasion, counted the number of seconds when nothing happens and it came to 5-10 seconds, when nothing, literally nothing happens. The viewer is left frustrated. I can understand that a slow pace is common in 'arthouse' movies, but even then there is usually something happening even if there is no dialogue. Frustrating, pointless, and an empty experience. Watch something else...
Leofwine_draca
One of my pet peeves in cinema is when a director makes a film in a genre they're not interested in. It happened with Marc Foster when he made QUANTUM OF SOLACE and look how that film ended up. The same happens with THE ASSASSIN, a gorgeously shot period martial arts movie from Taiwan, which is directed by art-house film-maker Hsiao-Hsien Hou, a man who has said he doesn't like lengthy martial arts scenes. In THE ASSASSIN, you find out what a martial arts movie looks like when it has very little action in it.The result? It's a pretentious bore of a film. Oh yes, I know it looks wonderful. I wish Hou had shot in widescreen like every other director, as to say fullscreen looks better is just nonsense - and smacks of pretentiousness again. The countryside setting is vibrant and I did really enjoy the fight scenes when they do occur. They're over very fast, like in an old samurai movie, and they have a snappiness and aggression that the more elaborate wuxia movies lack. What a pity, then, that the rest of the film outside of the fights is so dull and lacking in basic film-making abilities. There's no characterisation outside of Shu Qi's lead, and the back story is needlessly complex as it jumps through time and fails to adequate introduce supporting players. The result is that THE ASSASSIN is a fine-looking but ultimately hollow viewing experience.
Reno Rangan
I found this film when it was listed in the BBC news' top 20 films of the 2015. This film topped the chart, then how can I just ignore which is my prime world news feed. The fun part was I saw a South Korean film called 'Assassination' believed to be this, but very I soon realised the mistake. Anyhow, I loved the Korean film that I reviewed a couple of moths ago on this same blog.Finally, I managed to see this Mandarin film, but it was not anything like I've been expecting. Critically acclaimed film, but commercially failed because of the slow narration. Jointly produced by China-Hong Kong-Taiwan, but selected as a Taiwanese entry to the Oscars that failed to make a progress to the main event.Not everybody can easily follow this narration. Because this is not a typical historical film presentation with a clear introduction like in the background voice or in the texts, except in the opening that letting us know where and how it begins. The lack of the character development is the factor for all the complication. So I strongly suggest to read the synopsis before the watch and have a look at the film character infographic once finished watching.The story sets in the 8th century China during the final years of the Tang Dynasty. When a well trained assassin failed to accomplish the mission directed by her master, she is sent to another province for another assignment where she starts to remember her past that she has some connection with her undertaking. With all the bad things happening in and around the royal family, state politics et cetera, the rift is inevitable that anytime the dynasty might fall. The remaining the tale reveals how the film ends with a realistic approach."The way of the sword is pitiless. Saintly virtues play no part in it. Your skills are matchless, but your mind is hostage to human sentiments."I am a film fanatic, so basically I love all the films I watch. But I prefer entertainment the most, followed by the message, education, inspiration, true events et cetera. I had seen many films like this that I mostly ended up unsatisfied. Because a film without the background score as same as silent lullaby. Speaking of music, when the film was in the final scene there came a music which I compare to oasis. That's the beautiful sound I have heard in this entire narration. Slow camera panning and fixed cameras for minutes is what I disliked in it or any similar themed films.I appreciate the effort to preserve the historical account in a film format, but the type of narration matters a lot if they expect the audiences backing. A film like this is specially made for film festivals, surely critics love it and as I heard they did. I can't believe even if the film critics failed to recognise what would be the film's fate.So it is a slow film then, but when the stunt sequences appeared, I was thrilled with my full attention. Well composed realistic fights, that's what anybody remembers when they think of Chinese films. But I warn you this is not a complete martial art film except now and then you encounter such scenes. It is not even a horror, but there was a scene with smoke which scared the hell out of me. I was not expecting such thing, besides, I was bored to death when this thing came I woke up.The film was shot in the beautiful outdoor places. Apart from the stunts, I loved the landscapes which were just resembled the classical Chinese paintings. I did not find any performances that impressive. I appreciate their effort, but since the story was told without anyone's particular perspective, felt like everyone had equal scope for their roles.Overall, I did not like the film and I'm not suggesting it to anybody. But if you are interested in the Chinese ancient history or love the art films then you could try it. This is first low rated film to review on this blog which is I've been avoiding since the beginning, but decided to write for all kinds of rating now onwards.3/10
