Shi yue wei cheng (2009) Reviews

• Thoughtful, character driven, and highly awesome

  Matt-602010-01-25

  Just had the pleasure of watching this, I had heard good things about it and when it popped up on a torrent site I leaped at the chance. Please note, I don't support piracy and downloading, but since this is not available stateside yet my options are limited. Needless to say, this one is a buy for sure on DVD, hopefully there will be a blu ray release with good subtitles at some point. This is a star studded period action film about the assassination attempt of Dr Sun Yat Sen in Hong Kong. The first hour of this movie is entirely about setting up the characters, making you understand them and care about them. In fact there is only one action scene in the first hour, which existed to drive the plot and define the motivation of the woman who would become one of the bodyguards. Don't worry, the kung fu awesomeness will begin, the entire second half of the movie is one very well done action sequence after another. But the set up really matters here, it is very engaging and later on when all these characters come together to protect Dr Sen, you care about each one and when some die, you feel it. The acting is excellent all around, many of the actors are major stars, such as Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Leon Lai, and Tony Leung Ka Fai, but the film is an ensemble piece and each star disappears into their character, many of whom are playing against type. The action is top notch, as expected with Donnie Yen's involvement. Yen has a brutal fight with Cung Le that involves some very nice choreography and some parkour action as well. All of these scenes are enhanced by the fact that you care quite a bit if this character lives or dies. My only complaint would be the villain, played by Red Cliff's Jun Hu. I felt his character was a little over the top, I would have liked him to have been more in control. But it is a minor quibble in a film with a great many strengths. I highly recommend this one, check it out.

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• Powerful, logical and heartbreaking.

  lmortin2010-02-18

  First of all, I'm not familiar with Chinese history, so I wouldn't say anything about its historical bases. Still, this movie worth the time with no doubt. No matter where you live. Powerful, logical and heartbreaking. I say powerful because we got a well painted picture about the main characters in the first half. Yes, the movie does not only focus on the high profile action scenes and blood. That's one of its strengths. The audience - this time it's me - had enough time to acquaint the persons and like them. For this reason losing some of them is a heartbreaking effect in the second half. I think it's not a spoiler. Anyone can guess it who has seen the trailer. The acting is OK (some actors were great, especially Xueqi Wang) but my opinion is that the script and the director have done this movie for that it is. I really enjoyed that the movie has avoid to use mindless clichés, like ultimate fight of good vs. evil. The main bad character had also deep conviction that he has been doing the right thing for his country/highness. As it is so, for me, he was authentic in his role. Now there's only one word has to be explained - logical. Unfortunately I can't do it without revealing some moments from the story, so I leave it to you. Find it out yourself. If you like heroic tales, you should love it. I hope this movie will be released on DVD in my country, too.

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• Excellent film!

  maxmooney2010-05-29

  I had the pleasure (but discomfort) of watching this on the plane from Taipei to Bangkok and have never been so engrossed in an in-flight movie. It was heartbreaking and exciting and, although perhaps slightly out of place, the action sequences were excellent. The acting was great and this may well be my favorite film so far this year. I am unaware as to how accurate the story is but I would bet it is much closer to reality than most "Based on a True Story"-type films. Another reviewer said they were expecting a Hong Kong "Gangs of New York" and I think it does fall somewhere near this but I would rewatch this film 100 times before watching "Gangs" again... this is mostly due to Cameron Diaz's atrocious performance. I hope this film receives a subtitled release on DVD as I will definitely want to add it to my collection.

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• Truly top-notch

  harry_tk_yung2009-12-24

  People who are particular about genre and such things have been trying to decide whether this is a historical drama or action thriller. I'd just call it a marvellous movie. The important thing is that for an action movie to be really engaging, it has to be rooted on a solid plot. Otherwise, the action looks pointless. B&A is an excellent example of how story and action complement each other. The plot may sound a little stretched, if you challenge the details, but it's the overall spirit that really matters. The story is wonderfully simple: Dr Sun Yat-sen, "father of modern China", came to British colony Hong Kong in the beginning of the 20th Century, for just one morning to meet a dozen revolutionaries from all over China to plan a major insurgence to overthrow the Qing imperial dynasty and form the first republic in China. Waiting for him is an army of assassins deployed from the imperial palace. He needed an hour with the fellow revolutionaries and that hour was critical because it would lay a foundation for a successful revolution. In order to provide him with the best possible chance of success, the local revolutionaries set up a decoy with a double going all over town, including visiting his aged mother. The first 80 minutes set up the story and established the characters; the last hour is all gut-spilling action. The first part, lacking in action notwithstanding, is consistently engaging, establishing on the macro level the historical backdrop and on a micro level the characters (more about them later) in a fashion reminiscent of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". The palpable tension on the other hand will bring to mind "High Noon". The second part is simply the best action you've seen anywhere, period. Even more important is that this is not fighting just for the sake of fighting, but for a course established with heartfelt dedication, through characters that you will unreservedly root for. There'll be not a few heart-wrenching moments, be warned. There is an entire spectrum of interesting characters, presented with various degrees of depth, as appropriate. I'm not going to mention all, or even a majority of them. The interesting thing is that they are all in this for different motivations. On the villains' side, we have the attention demanding HU Jun playing the chief assassin. Ironically, this is the most "Hollywood" of the characters, a nationalist fanatic to psychopathic proportions. I'm sure if you think hard, you can name half a dozen such ones from Hollywood war or war-related movies. On the other side, all the heroes have distinct personalities and different motivations. The golden-hearted simple giant cum ex-Shoaling monk cum street snack vendor is there to "fight the bad guys" and that's good enough for him. Young rickshaw "chauffer" Ah Si doesn't know anything about how the greater world works but is willing to lay down his life any time for his kind-hearted employers who treat him like their family. Young girl Fang Hung is there to follow the footsteps of her father, a revolutionary who just died in the hands of the assassins. The odd ball top martial expert who has degenerated to a beggar because of a woman sees this adventure (including death) as a way to escape his never-ending agony of self-pity and remorse. The compulsive gambler and fortune seeker who does anything for money finally does the only thing right in his life because of love for his ex-wife and estranged 8-year-old daughter. None of these people are initially motivated by noble revolutionary goals and yet it does not take anything away from their heroic deeds and sacrifices – thus is the magic wielded by the movie makers. There are of course the good guys, the true revolutionaries, but as I said, I'm not going to try to cover all the characters. What must be said, however, is that the show belongs to WANG Xueqi, who portrays the character with most depth, a tycoon who starts out as a cautious financial contributor to the revolutionary course but refusing to have anything more to do with it. Conflict with his son who is dedicated to the course brings about a gradual change in him, eventually into an "ordinary hero". If you have seen Wang's performance in "Forever Entralled" (2008) you know the impeccable standard that you are entitled to expect from this actor, and he meets every bit of that expectation here. Set, editing, camera work, action direction all become an integral part of this top-notch motion picture, which must be recognized as among the very best of Chinese language motion pictures in recent memory.

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• hugely watchable

  thisissubtitledmovies2010-12-09

  excerpt, more at my location - When introducing Bodyguards And Assassins – a film based around the real life actions of his grandfather, Peter Sun was asked to comment on the historical accuracy of the film. A laugh went around the auditorium, perhaps filled with veterans of previous Donnie Yen films. Peter Sun laughed, too. Clearly, in bringing the film to the big screen, some embellishments had to be made. Bad news perhaps for scholars of Chinese political history, but great news for fans of martial arts cinema. In saying this, Peter Sun effectively conceded that Bodyguards And Assassins is not really a film about his grandfather. Dr Sun appears in the film only briefly. But through the skilled interweaving of political thriller and Chinese hero myth, the film succeeds in conveying his importance, in the willingness of ordinary and extra-ordinary people alike to sacrifice everything for his success. In that, Bodyguards And Assassins is not just a hugely watchable martial arts experience, but a surprisingly effective vehicle for a political subtext that echoes in China to this day.

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