namathieu This movie depicts a fantastic representation of the Three Kingdoms era of China. Not only does it have a good compelling story, great camera work, Chow-Yun Fat, and an amazing way of telling said great story, it also shows a good side of Cao Cao, the portrayal of him is just perfect. Most works usually make him out to be a villain, but this shows his true self. It throws in a few characters who may or may not have been real. But that adds to how much one can perceive the characters actions. This movie is truly worth a watch. If you like ancient China, Chow-Yun Fat, or real neat movies, this one takes the cake. So to anyone reading this, you will not make a mistake by watching this grand movie.

blackmamba99971 I found this to be a wonderful look at the end of the Han Dynasty. Chow Yun Fat who plays the famed General Cao Cao for the emperor Xian (Alec Su)falls into despair when he learns of a coo against him. Seeing as the emperor has enemies all over China, in his paranoia included General Cao with his delusions. Yet in the middle is a young girl who along with another was kidnapped in order to be honed into an assassin.Taught by an evil doctor named Doctor Yuen (Roy Cheung) to kill a friend or die. Seeing as this presented many complications to this girl Gong Ling Ju (Yifei Liu), she tried to keep her resolve in assassinating Cao Cao, but with the driving force to live, held deep in her heart, that the general is not all that is told about him is true.With the royal courts and the emperor against the general, Gong Ling comes to realize he was only protecting Xian all along. But with growing troubles in the hierarchy it became impossible to kill him. I found this to be a great representation of an old story of the past. It was known that the Han dynasty held a very troubled king, and how his growing paranoia led to his abdication. To see such ways of creating assassins to carry out an order to kill, was also a unique expression on just how bad it was back then. To use human lives in the name of royalty. The doctor was evil, even though he played the part of the kind physician he was actually beyond help in his own delusions from the emperor. Great music, wonderful acting on everyone's part.Most of which goes to Chow Yun Fat who I have admired for years. Plus one other person who I thought played the son of Cao to the letter. A troubled lad who didn't know where his loyalties laid. To become the son again through a warning, and to live on for his father's sake.Cao Pi(Qiu Xinzhi) lived up to his father's name and became emperor just after Xian, another great actor I think. All in all, it's a love triangle,full of betrayal, paranoia both in the courts, and in the minds of those around Cao Cao, the emperor, and the people. A very turbulent time, a very dark past in China's history. Highly recommended to those over 17.

m-a-elsewhere A stark, brilliant, uncompromising tale of imperial intrigue and self- fulfilling prophecies, with a star cast helmed by Yun-Fat Chow and Yifei Liu, TONG QUE TAI (THE ASSASSINS) is one of the better Mandarin films in recent years, and easily ranks with such lush historical epics as CHI BI (RED CLIFF) and MAN CHENG JIN DAI HAUNG JIN JIA (CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER).A fictionalized account of the events leading to the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty in 220 CE, as seen primarily from the point of view of Gong Ling Ju—one of many refugees abducted as children, then brutally trained for a decade solely to murder the powerful Duke of Wei, Chancellor Cao Cao. A military genius, adored king, scholar and poet, Cao Cao has been unswervingly loyal to the Han, even feckless current Emperor Xian. But an astrological prediction cast years before foretells that Cao's destiny is to end the Han era—and Xian's courtiers will stop at nothing to thwart "heaven's will". Might their sneak attacks and murder plots only push Chancellor Cao into the rebellion they want to prevent? Or might Cao's growing affection for and trust in his concubine, Ling Ju, prove the weakness that gives her an opportunity to kill her lover? Solid performances, gorgeous cinematography, and a taut script weaving spectacle with reflection make TONG QUE TAI a skillfully wrought Asian history-based drama.

Jeff Lee I'M a big proponent of non-violence in movies and am critical of movies such as The Expendables 2, Taken 2, The Raid and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.However, after watching the painfully dry and laborious Chinese period piece The Assassins, I may have to reconsider my views. It's weighed down by its own importance and can't get out of a maze of drudgery.Even the presence of Chow Yun Fat, the Gerard Depardieu of Chinese movies, isn't enough to save the movie.Chow instils charm, charisma and integrity in his emperor-like roles, so he can play a ruthless leader who exudes compassion for his lover in his sleep.Director Zhao Linshan's The Assassins is a drama about royal court intrigue, fighting for power and a woman torn between two lovers. Yet viewers won't be able to relate to most of the characters, and even the confusion experienced by the woman in question is inexplicable. It's as if she was forced into that position.Cao Cao (right) tells the killer concubine that they can pin the blame on the many subplots in the film. Chow is chancellor Cao Cao, who rises to the No. 2 position in the Han Dynasty by virtue of his ruthlessness in wars. The numero uno is effeminate Emperor Xian (Alec Su), who sings songs of male lovers. The emperor's sycophants see Cao Cao as a threat to them wanting to keep the former in power, so they devise many ways to assassinate the latter. One way is by snatching kids whose parents were killed in wars by Cao Cao.As teens, Lingju (Liu Yifei) and Mu Shun (Tamaki Hiroshi) are forced to attend a camp that trains them to be assassins. Mu Shun is castrated so he can join the emperor's group of eunuchs, while his lover Lingju becomes Cao Cao's concubine to get close to him and to kill him.Cao Cao, meanwhile, must contend with hordes of assassination attempts against him, including that of his concubine's, but he wins her over with the milk of his human kindness. He's not as bad as he's portrayed to be. You can see why taking on this role isn't a stretch for Chow.Mu Shun realises that his lover is falling for Cao Cao, and tells her that Cao Cao can provide many things for her that he can't. A man needs a lot of balls to say that to a lover.www.jeffleemovies.com