Legendary Assassin

[Drunk Monk]

I liked it. It wasn't a big film, not something to catapult Wu Jing into the spotlight that he so deserves, but it's a decent action drama. It has a low budget indie feel, which actually works to its favor. Instead of building artificial sets, they simply shot the natural environment of the island, which is intrinsically interesting from a cinematographic standpoint, especially for Western viewers who have never really been exposed to this part of Asia. It's an assassin-Romeo and a cop-Juliet tale, parsed with some fine actions scenes, predictable in plot for the most part. The story arc comes together well in the end - again, not mind-blowing, but satisfying. Celine Jade channels Sandra Bullock but that charm failed me in the wake of the Edison scandal. Wu Jing pulls some fine fights, including the crazy last one-against-a-bazillion rain fight scene finale and the monster-giant-fight echoing the Lee/Jabbar (both are teased in the trailer). Wu Jing has crazy kicks and excellent timing, just what you'd expect from a former Beijing Wushu champ. He exudes a cool 'I can kick your ass' confidence with smiling eyes and an understated physical power. The film gets a little melodramatic, especially in the training/flirting scene between Wu and Jade but the pacing didn't get too slow between fights and there was enough natural environment footage to keep things visually interesting. A modest effort overall, worth the attention of any Wu Jing fan, not his greatest work to date, but as always, it's interesting to see where he is now.
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