Legendary Assassin (2008) Movie Review #2

“Legendary Assassin” sees Chinese martial arts sensation Wu Jing step behind the camera for the first time, co-directing along with Nicky Lee Chung Chi, who also provided the stunt choreography for the likes of “Invisible Target” and “Lady Cop & Papa Crook”. Wu has been building an impressive resume through appearing in the likes of “SPL” and “Fatal Contact”, and here takes centre stage in a familiar though entertaining tale of a moody hitman and his violent misadventures.

The film starts with Wu as the titular assassin Bo (whose legendary status never really comes up) arriving on a picturesque island and beheading a fugitive mob boss after laying waste to his incompetent goons. Prevented from leaving by an approaching typhoon, he falls in with local policewoman Holly (Celina Jade), helping her out during a brawl at the local restaurant. Bo is welcomed at the police station and treated as an honoured guest, at least until the headless body of the mob boss is discovered. Things turn even more serious after the dead gangster’s wife (played by Japanese actress Aoyama Noriko) sends in more thugs to claim her husband’s corpse and to flush out his killer.

With the familiar sounding plot being of only passing concern, the only question that really matters with “Legendary Assassin” is whether or not it delivers the kung fu goods. Thankfully, the answer to this is a definite ‘yes’, as Wu Jing unsurprisingly gives himself plenty of chances to show off his skills, and fans will certainly be satisfied by the action content. He shows himself to be an incredibly nimble fellow, and the film is filled with scenes of high flying martial arts, as he jumps off tables, walls and pretty much anything else that comes to hand, or indeed foot. Although some of the fight choreography could have perhaps been a little tighter in places and a little less reliant on slow motion, this is all very impressive, and there are a good few stand out sequences including a restaurant battle and a “Matrix” style mass brawl towards the end. Also on the plus side is the fact that the film is quite a brutal and violent affair, with lots of bone-crunching blows and painful looking impacts. This adds a certain air of authenticity to the proceedings, and makes the film all the more exciting.

Although Wu Jing’s popularity has been growing, most of his appearances have been in supporting roles, and so the film can be seen as an important step towards his securing leading man status. In that respect, it does provide him with an effective vehicle, not least since he appears in nearly every scene, generally looking mean and moody or striking one ridiculously macho pose or another. After playing another near-silent character, in this case whose only gimmick is that he eats a lot, the jury may still be out on his actual acting skills, though he does have a certain Jet Li type screen presence, and has a definite on screen charisma. This is just about enough for him to carry the film and to keep the viewer engaged – though in fairness, this is more due to anticipation of the next dynamic action scene than the narrative itself. The supporting cast all pitch in with lively performances and some welcome comic relief, especially the multi-lingual and charming Celina Jade, who does a good job both with her own fights and with keeping the viewer amused as she tries to draw the monosyllabic Bo out from his shell. This helps to give the film a bit more of a human element and to keep the interest between the bouts.

“Legendary Assassin” is not a particularly ambitious film, though it certainly achieves in its aims of providing a solid piece of genre entertainment and a worthy headliner for Wu Jing. Certainly, it represents the star trying out his directorial wings rather than attempting to shake up the form, though by sticking to a safe bet he does manage to provide himself with more of a showcase for his skills than many of his other recent bit parts have done.

Chung Chi Li, Jacky Wu (director) / Chi Keung Fung (screenplay)
CAST: Jacky Wu … Bo
Celina Jade … Hiu Wor
Noriko Aoyama … Madam Ma
Ronald Cheng … Uncle Zhi
Lik-Sun Fong … Handsome Bao
Shiu Hung Hui … Guan Gong
Zhan-Wen Keu … Chairman Ma
Sammy Leung … Tarzan