CODE OF THE ASSASSINS – Review

CODE OF THE ASSASSINS is a subtitled Chinese martial arts movie set in olden (long before guns) times. Expectations will determine your level of enjoyment. Those seeking the adrenaline rushes one gets from the high-octane fighting of a Jet Li or Tony Jaa should look elsewhere. Fans of more lyrical pacing, complex stories and lavish visuals are the target audience, and likely to regard this more favorably than I did. Closer to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON than to a Guy Ritchie or Michael Bay production.

The story consists of many factions vying for a treasure map, power over the region, and/or revenge. The protagonist and narrator is an assassin known as Blue Asura (Shaofeng Feng), trained from childhood by Ghost Valley’s cult of masked killers-for-hire after the rest of his family was massacred during the theft of that map by unknown attackers, who apparently lost it later. Now an adult with the essential “particular set of skills”, he sets off to learn who slaughtered his clan and avenge their deaths. For him, the map is only step one in finding the killers, irrespective of any benefits of ownership motivating the rest of the players.

Meanwhile, a raft of princes, generals and others variably compete and form alliances to grab the loot, and whatever perks come with it. All of that is pretty standard as a plot driver. But the two hours are weighed down with an excess of dialogue, as motives and plots are discussed and played out, with enough betrayals to fill a trilogy. Or a very UN-sexy telenovela. Following the shifting sands of those threads is complicated further by an abundance of flashbacks between current scenes in which multiple backs are literally or figuratively stabbed. One might consider making the kind of big board seen in police procedurals and lairs of conspiracy theorists, covered in pictures of all the parties with red yarn stretched among them to track connections and patterns.

On the plus side, Director Daniel Lee, a veteran hand at such productions, assembled a talented team to create splendid visuals. Huge fortress cities. Vast ornate interiors. Elaborate costumes and warriors aplenty. Action sequences are ramped up with slo-mo, high-flying wire work, fanciful weapons (lethal flying cape and umbrella, among others), plus one other element. Several of the main adversaries use steampunk mechanical weapons that perform arsenals of functions. After Blue Asura’s hand was chopped off some years earlier, his shifu (teacher) gave him a metal glove capable of more tasks than Batman could have ever imagined, much less crafted in his cave. Others wield comparably versatile weaponry. We see gears grinding inside them as they reconfigure for different purposes needed in the moment. Cool for a while; tedious before the end.

Shaofeng, who has worked with Lee before, was a fine choice for the lead. His youthful looks and good-guy demeanor put an audience solidly in his corner. He’s earned a dozen, or so, acting awards and nominations. This one may not add to his total, but put your money on more to come for him.

1 1/2 stars out of 4

CODE OF THE ASSASSINS, also known as SONG OF THE ASSASSINS, in Mandarin with subtitles, is streaming now on Hi-YAH!, and available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital formats on March 28, 2023.