Review of Reign of Assassins

An opening prologue tells of Bodhi, an Indian monk, whose mummified remains are rumoured to grant great power. Half of the remains were in the possession of the Prime Minister until taken by Dark Stone gang. They don't have it for long as their top assassin, a woman called Drizzle, takes it from them. Not that long afterwards she decides to give up the life of an assassin and visits a surgeon who changes her appearance. She then heads to the capital and becomes a cloth merchant. Here she forms a relationship with, and ultimately marries, Ah-sheng. Their life won't be as peaceful as she hope though; it is only a matter of time before the Dark Stone find her and conflict will inevitably ensue.

If you are a fan of wuxia films then this one is definitely worth watching. The plot isn't overly complicated but there are still some nice twists. The action, and there is plenty of it, is brilliantly choreographed with lots of sword fights. Michelle Yeoh is on great form as post-surgery Drizzle and Woo-sung Jung provides solid support as Ah-sheng. There are also impressive villains; most notably Xueqi Wang, who plays the leader of the Dark Stone, and Barbie Hsu who plays a particularly vicious assassin who had previously killed her husband and his parents on her wedding night! Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre; I'm surprised that it isn't better known.