Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

johnmgroves-51656 The director has created a spectacular view of China and the sets,costumes and actors contribute magnificently to the overall effect. The story-line is inventive and intriguing mixing macro politics with family infighting. The only sour note is that the editing has made the viewer unlikely to understand what is going on. Whole sections of film have hit the cutting room floor resulting in some characters appearing and disappearing without explanation.It is saved in no small part by the cinematography and lighting. The set decorations and costume design are masterful and create a brilliant counterpoint to the landscape.

rxcarrington I watched this movie with a few friends. We had no idea what to expect. Unfortunately we were intensely bored and disappointed. It's an insufferably boring "film" that pans across disparate elements that never seem to tie together at all.It took far too long. It made little sense and was intensely boring. The most interesting element was the old man with the white beard getting shot with crossbows. Aside from that there was far too much attempted, meaningless symbolism.For much of the film, especially in many of the later scenes of the movie, I really did not know who the characters were or what they were trying to accomplish. The film would introduce random characters with no explanation as to who they were or who they were interacting with. Then whisk them out again never to be seen again. They may as well have not been there. In fact they shouldn't have been since they served no purpose for the story and cluttered the scenes.Avoid it.

manisimmati "The Assassin" wants to be a crossover of Chinese wuxia flicks and art-house cinema. Unfortunately, it shows neither great fights, nor deep emotions. The story of the movie is fairly standard: A female assassin is assigned to kill her former lover. That way she is supposed to prove that she is cold-hearted enough for her duties. Fair enough, this might be interesting. But the director Hsiao-Hsien Hou feels the need to cloud "The Assassin" with subplots that are unnecessary at best and bloody confusing at worst. Half the time I was wondering: "Who is this? Where are they going? Why? Whyyy?"Now to be confusing is one thing. Some of my favourite films are downright incomprehensible. But you've got to give your audience a reason to stick around, to solve the cinematic puzzle. But Hou gives us nothing. The characters are flat and the emotions are hollow. The fights are meaningless as well, because you can't identify with the characters. Sure, some of the landscapes look fantastic; and there's a pretty cool scene involving veils in front of the camera. Other than that, this movie left me gravely disappointed. Trust me, you'll be better off watching Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for the tenth time.

billcr12 The Assassin is promoted as a martial arts film, which is extremely misleading, as we see very few fight scenes. Shu Qi is the lead as a female killer, Nie Yinniang, in seventh century China. She was given to a nun as a small child, and after some unseen battle training returns to her birth place to kill corrupt political and military leaders. Qui is stunning and the cinematography breathtaking; first in black and white with shadows, an obvious Citizen Kane influence, to magnificent color shots of pastel looking silk finery and opulent palaces. The problem is the slow pace and somewhat confusing story line. Viewed as a visual piece, it succeeds, but I would have preferred a more clear cut theme. I will still recommend The Assassin for the beautiful Shu Qi, and the richness of the scenery.