Hong Kong, the early 20th century: as Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen makes his way to a meeting destined to change the history of China, he is targeted by a team of highly trained assassins; sworn to protect him are a small band of loyal bodyguards, each willing to lay down their life for their ideology — the eventual freedom of their beloved country from the oppressive rule of the tyrannous Qing dynasty.
I was wary of Bodyguards and Assassins since it was promoted as being from the producers of The Warlords, which wasn't all that great, but the quote on the cover of my DVD made the film sound like a veritable action-fest, and the inclusion of Donnie Yen in the cast convinced me that a couple of hours of awesome martial arts mayhem was in the offing. Imagine my disappointment to find that the action only makes up a small percentage of the running time, the movie focusing primarily on the tumultuous political climate of the era, and the personal dramas that unfold as a result. I have no idea how accurate all of this is (although I suspect that it is more than a tad biased), but I can tell you that it is incredibly boring.
Mind you, when the fighting does eventually happen, it's far from impressive, with rapid editing making it hard to see what is happening and way too much wire-work for my liking. Next time I see a film advertised as being from the producers of The Warlords, I think I'll follow my gut instinct and give it a miss.
I was wary of Bodyguards and Assassins since it was promoted as being from the producers of The Warlords, which wasn't all that great, but the quote on the cover of my DVD made the film sound like a veritable action-fest, and the inclusion of Donnie Yen in the cast convinced me that a couple of hours of awesome martial arts mayhem was in the offing. Imagine my disappointment to find that the action only makes up a small percentage of the running time, the movie focusing primarily on the tumultuous political climate of the era, and the personal dramas that unfold as a result. I have no idea how accurate all of this is (although I suspect that it is more than a tad biased), but I can tell you that it is incredibly boring.
Mind you, when the fighting does eventually happen, it's far from impressive, with rapid editing making it hard to see what is happening and way too much wire-work for my liking. Next time I see a film advertised as being from the producers of The Warlords, I think I'll follow my gut instinct and give it a miss.