Legendary Assassin

Being a big fan of Wu Jing, I've waited nearly a year for Legendary Assassin after his dazzling moves in Fatal Move left me in limbo. I'm not sure how big a role he played as co-director in this film, but the direction and the story was fairly mediocre. It takes place on an island where he meets the girl cop (Celina Jade), and gets chased around by the bad guys. They are trapped on the island because a tropical typhoon has shut down all the ferries. It feels a bit like Assault on Precinct 13 but nowhere near as intense or exciting. A 6 to 6.5 rating is about right.

The thing about Jacky is that he always seems to fall short of making that 'big break' movie that truly shows how great an actor he can be. In Legendary Assassin, his acting is pretty much exactly the same as in Fatal Contact, whenever someone talks to him he smiles and waits a few seconds before replying. He plays the underdog secret assassin/kungfu master alternate identity that is in danger of being typecast nowadays. The big difference is that he talks a lot less than in Fatal Contact, and therefore in my opinion it is a step back. He actually took a step back from Fatal Contact. There should have been much more dialogue between him and Celina. The fighting scenes were slightly above average, nothing spectacular. A lot of people knock Fatal Move, but I thought it was intended to be over the top and ridiculous, like something out of a Japanese comic, CGI blood spraying all over the place. His fighting scenes were much better in Fatal Move and SPL. I guess I'm a bit spoiled by Donnie Yen, at the moment if Jet Li is considered to be retired, then Donnie reigns supreme (both on the screen and as producer/director) and Jacky is just behind him. In a leading role, Fatal Contact is probably still Jacky's finest, so he needs to step back and evaluate which direction his career should be headed. Perhaps he should take on projects with a solid script and director. I'm a huge fan of Jacky Wu and hope his next project can truly take it to the next level, and break more barriers.

A pleasant surprise is Hong Kong born newcomer Celina Jade making her debut, who is half Chinese and half American. Besides her natural beauty, she can also speak three languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin). Perhaps because of the fact that she was actually born and raised in Hong Kong, she performed admirably in Legendary Assassin and looked very natural on the screen, never fazed or looking out of place alongside a solid cast with some old time faces. Besides those dreamy eyes, her language and culture is her greatest asset, as despite playing a naive cop, you take her seriously as she delivered her lines with sincerity and realism rather than just being silly or trying to look cute. She also displayed a wide variety of emotions convincingly, and is definitely one to look out for in future Hong Kong productions.

2008 would be a good year for HK style action films if it was just for "Ip Man" which takes the traditional kung fu film of the early 1980's and updates it. Here we have an updating of the typical police action film of the late 1980's. Looks like 2008 has been a banner year.

Combining gangster genre with the sort of police action that Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock would be in, we have a well shot, exciting police drama with great kung fu action (no guns) and some light comedy. What takes this above the average film from the 1980's are the character touches that usually didn't happen in the older films. I found a lot of the films from that era to be boring or too stupid but this film held my attention for the full 80 minutes.

Good acting, great to excellent action choreography, fine direction and photography. I highly recommend this film.

It doesn't make you think really nor cry, but it does provide with some good old fashion ass-kicking...

And what ass-kicking it is!

Very well orchestrated fights but of course it's not just all random fights it does have a story, and the story is fairly good although at times a little confusing possibly because of the way it was edited, it does feel a little bit like there was a scene missing here and there.

Not to the point that it takes you out of the movie or anything though.

2 likable leads in the shapes of Wu Jing and Celina Jade, who both do very well as does the rest of the cast.

Not flawless by any means, but enjoyable.

This is not an art-house movie nor the most amazing action movie you will ever see. But it is a good, solid, entertaining action movie.

The relationship between Jacky Wu and Celina Jade was nice, the café scene was both funny and with great action, the scenes at the police station were a mixture of tension and comedy, and the climax fight scene was ridiculous but who cares?

I'd never seen Jacky Wu before and I found his silent stoic character rather enjoyable. This appears to be Celina Jade's first film and she was excellent, as well as rather attractive. Secondary characters played there roles acceptably (although the blonde policeman seemed to be in the wrong film).

The point is that I was thoroughly entertained for the duration, and even my wife enjoyed it. Overall I think that's pretty good.

Frankly I do not understand why this movie deserves such a pathetic IMDb score, given its decent plot and great story-telling. The movie reminded me of Infernal Affairs, which is not a bad example to look up to. It brought me back to the Islands District of Hong Kong, where life is much simpler. The dingy alleys, plainly clothed local police officers and a lone traveler from culturally different mainland China drew a picture in sharp contrast with penthouse office, high heeled diva and black suits donned gangs. The movie gave a successful preach that it's not appearance or wealth but compassion and dedication to higher ideals that makes the world a better place and life a fulfilling process. It thoroughly warmed my heart and plenty of unanticipated turns kept me absorbed throughout. I found it much more interesting than Ip Man, an over-hyped movie full of political correctness. I beg to differ with the other comment doubting Jacky Wu's performance and caliber as a co-director. I would definitely recommend it to my friends, who may even not turn out an Kung Fu movie fan.