Review of The Assassin (2015) by Yorkman — 16 Jan 2016

Films designed for audiences of a specific country/filmed in a specific language only tend to fare well internationally if the conform to dedicated tropes established as being popular by existing audiences.

Unfortunately for Western audiences, The Assassin doesn't do this.

As a film it's meticulously crafted, well directed, gorgeous cinematography, fine acting and, for a film that includes martial arts sequences, well choreographed.

The problem for the vast majority of Westerners, who might not appreciate all those positives, is that the story the film is expressing has absolutely no resonance to anyone without a knowledge of Chinese history and the books/novels that have turned the stories into legends.

The Assassin tells one such tale, but as it's marketed/filmed/produced for the Chinese, it pays absolutely no lip service to a global audience.

The result? It's a very slow and seemingly ostentatious mess. Dialogue plays second fiddle to the visuals, meaning there are huge gaps filled with complete silence as the camera pans across a room etc that never draws you in.

I, personally, am a massive fan of Oriental cinema (and have been for 30 years), and despite my own understanding of the visuals and the subtle references made within them, the movie really dragged on.

Disappointing, is the most flattering term for the film I can think of.