Bodyguards and Assassins

This film has several good moments and some good scenes. The film could have been a little shorter and it would have been nice to contain a couple more action scenes. Overall I would recommend this film.

A pretty good drama for a kung Fu movie, which is like calling someone a great dancer for an accountant. And did it have to be 138 minutes long?

It's been ages since I've enjoyed a modern action movie as much as I did this. Epic scale with some really likeable characters and backstories The CGI and special effects were, for almost all scenes, an integral part rather than overdone as a lazy fakeout for speed & impact. If you think that The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon were actually backward steps (Heresy!!...I must admit to liking CTHD still) rather than groundbreaking this may be 4 you. Why did it remind me of Stagecoach? :)

The divide between the drama half and action half is pretty sharp but it still works well. You really become invested in the characters, their lives and motivations which makes the action all the more intense and engaging.

fist half is a solid drama followed by a brutally action packed 2nd half where you find yourself actually invested in the people who are trying not to be hacked, maimed, dismembered, stabbed, shot, etc

What set this picture apart for me from other films in this vein is the first half half where they introduce the main characters and show you there motivations.The second half was a nicely done running street battle that was engaging to watch.

Typical Chinese martial arts movie mixed with some Chinese history.

Just a bit slow for the topic. A longer, faster paced film would have done better justice to the struggle of these heroes of the Great nation and their fight against western-nonsense-capitalist-imperialism. A fight that continues to this day.

This is almost an updated nod to the Shaw Bros period films but the wire-work in the martial arts is still ever present which is disappointing. Donnie Yen is decent and takes a bit of a backseat for other actors until the final fight sequences. The acting in this is pretty melodramatic (and corny) though. Overall it's decent if you like this sort of thing and it is pretty to look at with fantastic locations, sets, and costume design which makes it worth seeing.