Bodyguards and Assassins [DVD]

Bodyguards and Assassins, despite having a bit of a wonky name, is a stunning picture. An all-star cast brings to life the story of revolutionaries and imperialists planning for the brief return to Hong Kong of an exile from Japan who, in one hour, is going to set in motion the wheels of an all out rebellion on mainland China. The first half of the movie is a pure drama, introducing a lot of characters and fully fleshing out their motivations and relationships with each other. The story of the movie is not especially meaty, but by turning it into such a character piece it more than makes up for it. It was completely involving and a joy to watch. Near the end of the first half of the movie, my adrenaline was already up for the second half. The pace was perfect, and it built up wonderfully to what I thought was the film's climax. Instead, it turned out that it wasn't the climax, but that the entire second of the movie is brutally action packed. Having become successfully invested in the characters during the first half, this was some truly gripping stuff. The action direction is top-notch as well, absolutely pulse-pounding. For a solid period epic, Bodyguards and Assassins certainly stands out as a great film that fans will appreciate.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought that this was just another martial arts movie with gimmicky stunts and wire work. But when I watched the movie, it did not appear like a martial arts movie at all. It felt like a serious historical drama on the tumultuous period of China when the Empress Dowager Xixi was trying to hold on to power and Sun Yat-Sen was trying to bring about a popular revolution. The martial arts sequences were just an added bonus. The many characters actually had depth to them. And while Donnie Yen was only a minor character, his fight sequence with the Mixed Martial Arts champion of the US was nothing short of tremendous.

Bias Alert!!! I am a die hard martial arts fan with over 300 in my personal collection. Adding to that bias is my fondness for Donnie Yen and my great desire to see action films. But the reason this reaches the level of 5 stars is because the storyline and the acting are both exceptional. This is the story of the revolutionary movement of 1905 in Hong Kong, China. I really like the way in which the director shows how this revolt touches the lives of different families both rich and poor. But if you know anything about my reviews. I am an action film specialist and the fight scenes in this film are extremely good and that is because there are several top notched fighters in this film. And although hand to hand is my first love in martial arts films. The action sequences in this film go well beyond that with arrows, knives, explosions, swords and more. Another thing that makes the action sequences so good is that the audience will truly believe that these people are willing to die for this cause.

I do not yet have the blu-ray in hand, but I have had this on my DVR for a few weeks now. I was a little sorry to see the story is largely fictionalized because the story is so very good. The title is a tad misleading: this is a story about an important period in Chinese history, condensed down to 5 days. Some of the figures are historical, but the actual occurrences (except for the summary of the following few years) are not. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. This is a beautiful film. Wonderful performances from an ensemble cast. If you are deeply affected by self-sacrifice, the desire of a parent to protect his or her children, redemption and painful irony, you will deeply affected by this film. Besides the performances, the film is visually beautiful (not on the level of Hero, but getting there). Strongly recommended.

Came across the advertisement in 'Detective Dee' and wanted it. A very well laid out story of those who are trying to protect Sun Yet Sin, the father of modern China, and those who would try to hold onto the old ways. It is a long movie so make sure that you use the toilet before sitting down with the popcorn and soda. Some fight scenes you'll have to take with a grain of salt as they slide into some of the ridiculous with the jumping around and flying all over the place. But it is a well laid plot of those trying to bring China out of the feudal age into the Twentieth Century. A great film for those into history and martial arts mayhem.

Donnie yen is the man. He is good in this movie. He does a good job in the action scenes.

Since my first viewing of Donnie Yen in martial arts film I have become a great fan of his. He is only one of three martial arts actor I admire, the other two, Bruce Lee and Jet Li. What a great film the three of them together would have really made if Bruce Lee wasn't deceased. I hope to collect all his films and even hope to have a bio of him, Donnie Yen, soon as it's made available. I thought Ip Man was awesome...but this was really great !!

Not as much action as you would think based on the trailer. This is more of a Historical drama movie than it is action packed. If you wan tot see a good story and learn more about China's separation from British rule then I would recommend this. If you are looking for action and awesome fight scenes then no, I would not recommend this. I love martial arts films but this was a let down for me.

Fans of a genre are the easiest to please sometimes, but this flick made it to my "favourite" stack of all my movies, not just martial arts flicks. I love Donnie Yen, so that may influence my review. I find him a great actor and a fine martial artist, and I loved this story and recommend it to anyone who likes action movies, not just my martial arts buddies. I also enjoyed the historical aspect of the story, always great when a movie with this kind of heart actually has elements of truth to it. A fine film, one of Yen's best, I think.

Opera di fattura veramente eccelsa, capace di emozionare facendo ripercorrere i sentieri di una vicenda realmente accaduta ma poco nota in occidente. "Bodyguards and Assassins" è ambientato nei primi del '900, ai tempi della rivoluzione promossa e realizzata da Sun Yat Sen, considerato oggi il padre della Cina moderna ed uno degli artefici del rovesciamento dell'Impero Cinese ormai in piena decadenza, nonché colluso con l'Impero Britannico. Si parla ovviamente di una rivoluzione mirata ad introdurre i principi di democrazia ed uguaglianza, abolendo la schiavitù, niente a che vedere con la rivoluzione comunista di Mao di 40 anni dopo. Infatti inizialmente solo Taiwan (la Cina nazionalista) ne rivendicava l'eredità morale, ma poi, ormai da svariati decenni, anche la Repubblica Popolare Cinese riconosce la rivoluzione di Sun Yat Sen come fonte d'ispirazione. Regia molto solida e menzione speciale per tutto il cast, con attori uno più bravo dell'altro. Film vivamente consigliato. Rapporto qualità presso eccellente. Amazon impeccabile.

D'après des faits réels que l'on connait mais bien sur cette histoire est surtout racomptée pour les morts inconnus. Ce que je pense de cette histoire et de ce film? Au dessus des cinq étoiles. ( Surtout écouter le bonus.) Sûr qu'il est spectaculaire! les chinois sont un peuple digne avec un état d'esprit tellement puissant et fier. J'admire la population! Pour dire deux mots de ce film. Il dépeint une horrible tragédie. Le quotidien d'un peuple démuni, pris au pège de tout côté, revendiquant sa liberté. Ce film m'a profondément bouleversé. En voyant le titre, je ne pensais pas que ce film était aussi sublime mais horrible. Mais que je suis heureuse de l'avoir acheté et vu avec un Donnie Yen toujours aussi surprenant. Plus jeune certes mais cet homme ne vieillit pas. Tous les acteurs vous tiennent en haleine et finissent par former votre famille. On entre en eux ou se serait plutôt le contraire. Donnersa vie pour les générations suivantes. le courage de ses hommes et femmes me serrent la gorge. La chine a dégusté et humilié. Je le recommande. Il y a une foule d'acteurs précieux. Donnie n'a pas le premier rôle. C'est une histoire de partage et comme cela complète honorablement ce film. L'impressionnant Mengke Bateer. la sublime Yun zhou, Tony Leung kafai, wang xueqi si performant dans son role de père qui m'a fait versé des larmes. Donnie en sacrifié qui lui aussi a un jeu de scène qui me fascine et me surprend dans chancun de ses rôles. Très très attachant. Un homme si fort qui montre de sentiments si puissants dans l'affection. Ses larmes font si vrais. Une vraie star. Un combattant extraordinaire. Il a en lui cette fièvre d'aimer et de prendre chaque rôle à bout de bras. Ce film devrait passer dans les lycée. Un vrai combat au nom de la liberté. A acheter les yeux fermés;

Not your normal Donnie Yen film but a great powerful movie.. Great characters and great acting makes this movie a must for anyone who wants a good story with some great action.

すばらしかったです。二回くらい泣いてしまいました。 孫文を守ろうとする義士団ひとりひとりに感情移入しました。 ニコラス・ツェーは素晴らしい役者ですね。どんな役も自分のものに してしまう。日本での知名度が低すぎる！！ ほかの役者も、みんな当たり前のように演技からアクションからこなしてる。 レオン・ライもそうです。ミュージシャンとは思えないアクション！ 見応えあります。 なんでこのような映画を、日本は大きく公開してくれないんだろうか・・。 もっと見たいひとがいっぱいいるはずです！ そして、もっとたくさんのひとにみてもらいたい！ そう思わずにはいられませんでした。 わたしはこの作品、大好きです。