Presented as a directorial collaboration between Su Chao-Bin and John Woo, Reign Of Assassins sees Michelle Yeoh play an ex-hired killer whose attempt to lead a normal life is scuppered when her former gang come looking for her prized possession: the ancient remains of a kung-fu master.
In the context of Wuxia-style cinema, Reign lacks the plot punch of Zhang Yimou’s Hero or the visual poetry of Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Even so, this is fun and well-paced with fight sequences that, while not exactly screaming “Woo”, still manage to dance off the screen.
