• Mar 17
• BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS: DVD Review
• Posted by Deljhp - 17/03/10 at 12:01 AM

Director: Teddy Chan. Review: Adam Wing.

Judging by the trailer, you might think that Bodyguards and Assassins is Donnie Yen’s latest testosterone heavy action blockbuster. Think again, the phrase ‘a game of two halves’ has never felt so fitting; instead Teddy Chan successfully blends period drama with action city sensibilities. Bodyguards and Assassins brings together an all-star cast for a retelling of significant events in modern Chinese history. Westerners probably wont be familiar with it but that’s not really a problem, the assassination attempt on Sun Yat-sen's life in 1906 is given plenty of room to breathe. Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Nicholas Tse and NBA basketball player Mengke Bateer are just some of the big name cast along for the ride, Hu Jun plays the leader of the Qing assassins, while Eric Tsang, Simon Yam, and Fan Bingbing take supporting roles. Then there’s Zhang Hanyu, Jacky Cheung, and Michelle Reis who make cameo appearances. Hong Kong films don’t get much bigger than this.

Exiled Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen is returning to the British colony to meet with alliance leaders about upcoming plans of insurrection against the Qing imperial government. In China, the Qing send out official Xiao Guo (Hu Jun) to spearhead Sun's assassination; in Hong Kong, activist Xiao Bai (Tony Leung) and businessman Li (Wang Xueqi) gather bodyguards to protect Sun. The basic premise is relatively straightforward then, and Teddy Chan spends the best part of an hour building up his characters, with the seemingly less significant characters making the biggest impact. Crooked cop Chung Yang (Donnie Yen), rickshaw driver Ah Shi (Nicholas Tse), beggar Lau (Leon Lai), Shaolin monk Stinky Tofu (Mengke Bateer), and Li's son Chung Guang (Wang Bo Chieh) add depth to the multi-layered drama before laying down their lives in aid of a common cause. That would be the Tung Wai-choreographed action finale then, which plays out in almost real time through an impressive set that recreates early 1900s Hong Kong Central District in spectacular fashion...Continue reading review here.

Bodyguards trailer