Reign of Assassins (2010)

Drizzle/Zeng Jing tries to start a new life after she had betrayed her gang and hid the remains of monk.

Directors:

Chao-Bin Su, John Woo (co-director)

Writer:

Chao-Bin Su

Stars:

Michelle Yeoh, Woo-sung Jung, Xueqi Wang

3 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Yeoh	...	Zeng Jing
Woo-sung Jung	...	Jiang Ah-sheng
Xueqi Wang	...	Cao Feng, The Wheel King
Barbie Hsu	...	Ye Zhanqing (Turquoise)
Shawn Yue	...	Lei Bin
Xiaodong Guo	...	Zhang Renfeng
Kelly Lin	...	Xi Yu
Yiyan Jiang	...	Tian Qingtong
Leon Dai	...	Lian Sheng, the Magician
Hee Ching Paw	...	Mrs. Cai
Matt Chung-tien Wu	...	Killer Bear (as Matt Wu)
Shih-Chieh King	...	Doctor Li
Pace Wu	...	Qing Jian (Kongdong Teal Sword)
Zonghan Li	...	Lu Zhu (Wisdom) (as Calvin Li)
Angeles Woo	...	Eater Bear

Storyline

Set in ancient China, Zeng Jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical Buddhist monk's remains. She begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place, and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power-wielding secret.

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | assassin | martial arts | sword fight | wuxia | 

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Taglines:

From John Woo - Director of 'Red Cliff' and the Star of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [China]

Country:

China Taiwan Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin English

Release Date:

28 September 2010 (China)

Also Known As:

The Swordswoman's World

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beijing Gallop Horse Film & TV Production, Media Asia Films, Zhejiang Dongyang Dragon Entertainment Venture Investment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Terence Chang applied for a Taiwanese government subsidy as the writer-director Chao-Bin Su, as well as two investors, four executive producers and six major actors in the film are Taiwanese. Post-production was also done in Taiwan.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2010 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Hua
Composed by Dingding Sa & Peng Bo
Lyrics by Salad Li & Dingding Sa
Performed by Dingding Sa & Wu Tsing-Fong

User Reviews

Michelle Yeoh Once Again Illuminates a Martial Arts Film

The Dark Stone gang is tracing the remains of a Buddhist priest, because the rumour is that the person who owns those remains will rule over the kung fu world. One of the assassins kills the person who owns half of the corpse, and then makes off with it, thereby betraying her gang. She then meets Wisdom, a martial arts master turned monk, who teaches her that her deed was wrong; she therefore seeks a physician who can change her face for her, turning her into Zeng Jing (the lovely Michelle Yeoh). In her new identity, she becomes a fabric merchant in the big city, where she meets and falls in love with messenger Jiang A-sheng (Woo-sung Jung); soon they marry and appear to have a tranquil life together. But all is not as it seems; not only is Zeng Jing not who she says she is, but neither is Jiang A-sheng, and in the meantime her old gang, among others, continues to search for their erstwhile companion - and the remains of the monk....

This 2010 film was Michelle Yeoh's first wuxia film since the acclaimed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and she is as beautiful and graceful as ever, playing a rather complex character who is adept at hiding who she really is, yet capable of sincerely falling in love even when she's, perhaps first and foremost, a killer. The martial arts fights are amazing, but never silly-looking, and the supporting characters are all well-drawn, including a young woman brought into the gang to take Zeng Jing's place, a "magician" who uses both martial arts and magic to defeat his enemies, and the leader of the Dark Stone gang, a eunuch who wants nothing more than to be a "real man," yet who is more skilled a fighter then all of them. Must of this story takes place in city-scapes and at night, so we don't have the lovely landscapes sometimes seen in historical martial arts films, but with Yeoh illuminating the screen with her graceful presence, who needs mere trees and mountains?