REIGN OF ASSASSINS reviewed; out tomorrow on DVD and Digital

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Presents

Reign of Assassins / Jian yu

Directed by Su Chao-Pin
Co-Directed by John Woo
Starring Michelle Yeoh, Jung Woo-Sung and Xueqi Wang

China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2010, 107 minutes

Reign of Assassins is a period martial arts film that will become available tomorrow, November 1st, on Digital HD & On Demand and on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Synopsis
Billed -- and not without some reason -- as a sort of composite of Face/Off and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the film's story centers on the ancient remains of a Buddhist monk that are believed to confer the power to control the martial art world on whoever possesses them. Seized by members of a band of assassins, who kill their owner and his son, the remains are then taken by one of them who wants them for herself. She decides not to keep them and undergoes facial surgery to change her appearance and to try to live a normal life. She marries a messenger, but the quest for the dead monk's remains bring both the gang of assassins and others into her life and threatens to expose her true identity.

Disc Specs
-- Audio: Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1
-- Subtitles:
   -- English
   -- English for the Hearing Impaired
   -- Spanish
   -- None
-- Extras/Bonus Features: None

Review
This is a really solid martial arts action flick, not least because it stars the wonderful Michelle Yeoh. Not only is she a terrific action star, but she is a fine actress who pretty much always brings depth to any character she plays. The rest of the cast is very good also.

Wei Tung (as Stephen Tung) has done a fine job as action coordinator.

The film also benefits from a better than average story by Chao-Bin Su. Though not up to the screenplay of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Reign of Assassins has real heart to it.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended