Action films come along all the time, but sometimes the cover or poster art to the release is a bit deceptive. While it is the selling point and they clearly want it to be eye catching and interesting, it can also hurt a film if it doesn't live up to expectations. Four Assassins is one such film that leads you to prepare for an action heavy film, but delivers something completely different, but does it work?
Four Assassins follows four assassins that meet up in a Hong Kong hotel room to resolve unfinished business. As the night progresses secrets and the truth is slowly revealed that affects them all and all in the name of love. The story here is fairly simple and for all intents and purposes should not work at all, but somehow does. Most of this is thanks to the cast featuring the always good Will Yun Lee and Miguel Ferrer taking the lead. The film features some decent action, but is more about the character study than anything else. The structure is very Tarantinoish focusing on the dialogue as opposed to the action to keep this film moving forward as well as using flashbacks to learn more about their past. While at first it is a bit of a letdown with the lack of action, the well written dialogue ends up making for an unexpected film that works. While it doesn't break any ground it still steps out of the normal forgettable action fare and ends up delivering a smart thought provoking story. Have no fear, there is some action here and while it's not much it is well done.
This film is heavy on the dialogue, but keeps things interesting enough to keep the viewer from losing interest. Think Reservoir Dogs and change out the bank robbers with assassins and you have the vibe of this film. Lee has everything needed to carry this movie and does a great job. The rest of the cast do a fine job, but the only down side may be the misleading box art. Hopefully people will give this film more of a chance and watch it for what it is as opposed to what it appears to be.
