Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

John Jacobson The driving theme of this film is Dr Sun's importance to China. He is the guy who is credited with liberating the Chinese from the tyranny of the Empress Dowager Cixi. She is the shadowy figure we see at the beginning of this film (and at the end of another great Chinese film, Warlords). Dr Sun's idea was to make China a free, prosperous, and powerful nation. Well, I guess two out of three ain't bad. Nevertheless, he is considered the "Father of The Nation", and you will see his portrait proudly displayed today at China's big political meetings.Bodyguards and Assassins was a fun, deeply moving, and brilliantly acted piece of propaganda. I enjoyed it without English subtitles. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it less or more if I knew what the characters were saying? I was fortunate enough to watch this film with my Chinese friend who reads widely on this subject. He survived the horrors of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and left for Australia shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His healthy cynicism for his home country was on full display as we watched Bodyguards. Every time a character died for Sun, a caption popped up stating the date of birth and death of said character. My Chinese friend would grin. "These are not even real people", he would say. Indeed, the whole story is just another wonderful example of "alternative history" - a genre played with a deft hand by dictatorships everywhere. Bodyguards lovingly polishes the mythology of its biggest political icon outside of Mao. Although, my Chinese friend cautioned, "Sun wasn't exactly a saint. He was supported by the criminal underworld". Nevertheless, the film takes great pains to deliver the idea that Sun's revolution is worth the sacrifice of many lives.The concept of many people sacrificing themselves for one hero will grate on our Western sensibilities. Our Jesus-archetype is the exact opposite. We tend to prefer the idea of one person sacrificing himself for many. This would explain why many Western critics find this film a little over the top.If you watch this film for nothing else, then watch it for actor Wang Quexi's breathtaking arc-of-character. It is a credit to the man's skill that I could feel what he feels without understanding Mandarin. For this performance, Wang became the first mainland Chinese to win Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Critics Awards.

tgairey This movie blew me away. Martial Arts films can be, and have been done so wrong in the past, but this really surpassed my expectations. It was so beautifully shot and choreographed that the subtitles don't pose a problem like they do in some foreign films. Setting the film in the past was done well also. The set direction and costuming married very well the the actors. Speaking of the actors, they did an amazing job as well. You can really tell that they committed to their characters. You really do feel the pain and sense of honor these characters go through in this journey. I definitely recommend this movie for martial arts lovers everywhere. http://tinyurl.com/Bodyguards-and-Assassins

Snusmumrikken Very disappointing film. This film last's 138 min. In my opinion it was at least 45 min too long. I find it a overlong film!. i think it had too little action. When a action showed up, i think it was poor. Even the drama and story was very boring. I think it should be renamed to Boringguards and Assassins. I like some Drama films and TV series, but i think this was not any good Drama.I think the camera angles and editing also was poor. It was hard to follow the action. I thought this film would be action packed, considering Donnie was in it. I don't think it was. With all that money, how could they make such a bad film? I don't know how they managed to do that. Also, Donnie wears a silly unconvincing bald-cap making his head look like a watermelon. Hahaa.It has only max 15 min of action out of 138 min. I felt cheated since, before it was released it was promoted as having 1 hour of action. More drama film than action film. I will never watch this film again. See only this if you like a boring drama film with very little action. Watch Ip Man instead, than this junk. I think it does at least have much better, story, acting, and fight scenes

dbborroughs Set in 1906 this is the story of a bunch of revolutionaries in Hong Kong looking to make China a democratic nation no longer under corrupt feudal rule. To that end the seek to protect Mr Sun (Sun Yat-Sen) who is coming into Hong Kong in order to meet with the heads of the various revolutionary groups in all of the provinces. Unfortunately his arrival is known by the ruling Chinese authorities and they have sent a team of assassins into the British controlled city to kill him. Our heroes must assemble a team of men to get Mr Sun from the boat to the meeting and then to distract the assassins while the meeting takes place.This refreshing mix of drama, action and politics is the first great film I've seen in 2010. I might argue that its one of the high echelon of action films for reasons other than just the spectacular fight sequences.Perhaps I should begin by saying that the film is essentially divided into two parts. The first half of the film is a very character heavy, mostly light on action stretch where we get to know the characters, their backgrounds and their reasons for doing what they are doing. Unlike most action films there really isn't a clichéd character in the bunch. All are human beings, all of them want a better place. Because the film doesn't jump into the action but takes the time to not only build the characters, but to set up the situation, the film creates a huge amount of tension by the time Mr Sun arrives and the rag tag bunch has to try and keep him alive. This second half of the film is pretty much an hour plus long set piece as the various characters fight to stay alive. Its an hour that will exhaust you.The film works primarily because we have real characters. This is due in part to the casting of 15 big name actors Donnie Yen, Eric Tsang and Simon Yam among them. Normally the casting of so many actors can work against a film, but here it adds weight and makes the vast number of characters more easily recognizable. Better than the casting in the writing which allows for many small moments that add nice shading to everyone in the tale. The rick shaw driver who quietly tinkles his bell so the lady he loves will look up, Donnie Yen and the little girl, the flashes of wishes and the past. All these little moments come together so that we're watching a bunch of characters who make us hurt when something bad happens to them. When was the last time that you were so invested in bunch of characters that you actually feared for them in a film? Everything that happened made me wince. These are characters that pay a heavy price for what they do and we feel it.I know some people are not happy with the overt political message of the film. This is a film that wears what it feels on its sleeve. The point of the film is that in order to be free one must shake off the shackles of oppression and that the pain of today is for the happiness of tomorrows children. Some people don't like the message because its coming from a film that was made under the watchful eye of the Chinese government, however the statement that what we do today to assure freedom is not just a message for the people in China, its a message for everyone everywhere. Its a call for vigilance and for action anywhere in the world. The film says flat out that the struggle for your rights today will hurt, but if you are successful your children will have a better place. Its not specifically aimed toward any philosophy beyond the general promise of freedom, which makes me kind of wonder why people are unhappy about it.In all honesty if it wasn't for the intensity of the politics the film wouldn't work as well. The politics, right or wrong, provides the reason for the events to unfold. Why are you doing this? The reason is the politics. Even the intensity that drives the final hour, the need to have this meeting for freedom, comes from the politics and the desire to be truly free.The reason many people are going to watch this film is the action. Outside of one battle early on and one or two small moments nothing really happens until the second half. When the explosion of violence happens its pretty much an hour of solid fighting as the bad guys try to kill the good guys in every way possible (knives, fists, arrows, guns, explosions). There are pauses but thats just waiting for the next wave. This final hour takes place on a huge street set that recreates a large chunk of the Hong Kong water front area. Its put to good use as we watch as the cast winds their way all through it.Its amazing Its also heartbreaking since not everyone lives and as I said you feel each death as it happens. By the time it all breaks loose these are no longer characters on the screen but friends, with the result that what happens has so much more added weight. By the end of the film I felt broken. This is the rarest of action films, not only are you affected by what happens to each character, but you also fear for what might happen. Its never really clear what will happen, and the film is so much better for it.For the most part this film is a masterpiece. Easily one of the best films of the year. Its so much more than a drama or a political film or an action film. It is something else, simply a great film.