Bodyguards & Assassins

It takes place in Hong Kong in 1905, just before the beginning of the Chinese Revolution (1906-1911). It involves mostly fictional characters, but a few of the characters are based on reality.This is a Wuxia film in spirit, if not literally. Classic Wuxia has one or more masters protecting the peasants from the powers-that-be. This has every-day people protecting Sun Wen from Qing assasins.This is a beautifully acted and directed film; it is visually beautiful and the action scenes are very believable. Special notice goes to Donnie Yen, who plays a complex character that starts the film as a mercenary, but ends up giving up his life to protect Sun Wen.I have two versions of this wonderful movie. The movie is largely the same between the versions, but one has better English Subtitles and annotations. As an example, in one scene where the police chief is offering to escort Li Yutang and his entourage for a part of their journey, in one version it calls it a police escort; in the other it is called 'police brutality'. I expect the correct translation would be closer to 'police protection'. Even for the good translation, there are inconsistencies: for some reason one, two, three is translated to three, two, one.The good translation is distributed by Mega Star / Media Asia / Cinema Popular. Subtitles are Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English..The strange translation is distributed by e-one. Subtitles are English and French.

Bodyguards and Assassins, despite having a bit of a wonky name, is a stunning picture. An all-star cast brings to life the story of revolutionaries and imperialists planning for the brief return to Hong Kong of an exile from Japan who, in one hour, is going to set in motion the wheels of an all out rebellion on mainland China.The first half of the movie is a pure drama, introducing a lot of characters and fully fleshing out their motivations and relationships with each other. The story of the movie is not especially meaty, but by turning it into such a character piece it more than makes up for it. It was completely involving and a joy to watch.Near the end of the first half of the movie, my adrenaline was already up for the second half. The pace was perfect, and it built up wonderfully to what I thought was the film's climax.Instead, it turned out that it wasn't the climax, but that the entire second of the movie is brutally action packed. Having become successfully invested in the characters during the first half, this was some truly gripping stuff. The action direction is top-notch as well, absolutely pulse-pounding.For a solid period epic, Bodyguards and Assassins certainly stands out as a great film that fans will appreciate.

Movie did not have as much action as I expected and was only towards the end of the movie that the action got going. This movie was more of a historical perspective and was interesting from that standpoint, but was a bit boring at times.

Bias Alert!!! I am a die hard martial arts fan with over 300 in my personal collection. Adding to that bias is my fondness for Donnie Yen and my great desire to see action films. But the reason this reaches the level of 5 stars is because the storyline and the acting are both exceptional. This is the story of the revolutionary movement of 1905 in Hong Kong, China. I really like the way in which the director shows how this revolt touches the lives of different families both rich and poor. But if you know anything about my reviews. I am an action film specialist and the fight scenes in this film are extremely good and that is because there are several top notched fighters in this film. And although hand to hand is my first love in martial arts films. The action sequences in this film go well beyond that with arrows, knives, explosions, swords and more. Another thing that makes the action sequences so good is that the audience will truly believe that these people are willing to die for this cause.

I do not yet have the blu-ray in hand, but I have had this on my DVR for a few weeks now.I was a little sorry to see the story is largely fictionalized because the story is so very good. The title is a tad misleading: this is a story about an important period in Chinese history, condensed down to 5 days. Some of the figures are historical, but the actual occurrences (except for the summary of the following few years) are not. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.This is a beautiful film. Wonderful performances from an ensemble cast. If you are deeply affected by self-sacrifice, the desire of a parent to protect his or her children, redemption and painful irony, you will deeply affected by this film. Besides the performances, the film is visually beautiful (not on the level of Hero, but getting there).Strongly recommended.

Great movie, not just the martial arts but the historical background. Just like the American Revolution this is a story of patriotism and sacrifice. Great cast and acting.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought that this was just another martial arts movie with gimmicky stunts and wire work. But when I watched the movie, it did not appear like a martial arts movie at all. It felt like a serious historical drama on the tumultuous period of China when the Empress Dowager Xixi was trying to hold on to power and Sun Yat-Sen was trying to bring about a popular revolution. The martial arts sequences were just an added bonus. The many characters actually had depth to them. And while Donnie Yen was only a minor character, his fight sequence with the Mixed Martial Arts champion of the US was nothing short of tremendous.

What a surprise this film is? The cover and the title suggests a Chinese war lord fighting film. It is not.This an amazingly crafted film. Direction is first class as is the acting from all the cast.A lot of commitment went into the making of this film, and the director certainly moulded the actors into fine performances.Donnie Yen is not in his normal 'save the people/super hero' role. Far from it, and he certainly is not the main character. He has to act in this film and does it well.A remarkable portrayal of untold Chinese history.The action and fighting scenes are brilliant.Is it worth the money? = DefinitelyWill I watch it again? = Absolutely.A film that deserves recognition!RJC.

EXCELLENT FILM, WELL PRODUCED WITH THE NARRATIVE HIGHLIGHTED WITH GOOD CHARACTERS. QUITE DIFFERENT TO OTHER FILMS . FIGHT SCENES ARE VERY GOOD AND SEEM AUTHENTIC . WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Not your normal Donnie Yen film but a great powerful movie.. Great characters and great acting makes this movie a must for anyone who wants a good story with some great action.

This is a historical movie, not too much action or kung-fu.

If you like action and a good story then this is ok. I do not like the flying with wires and unreal stunts. This has very very little of the unreal since it is based off of true story. Good actors with their usual acrobatic and martial skills.