Our first clear look at the actual footage for John Woo & Su Chao-pin's wuxia film Reign of Assassins (Chinese title: Jianyu Jianghu, English translation: Rain of Swords in the Martial Arts World)
has surfaced online in the form of a promo reel. The cast include Michelle Yeoh, Jung Woo-sung, Barbie Hsu, Kelly Lin, Shawn Yue, Angeles Woo and Wang Xueqi. Here's a detailed synopsis (spoiler alert):
In 428AD, Bodhi, a Southern India prince became a Buddhist monk and set off for China, earning a hallowed reputation as a mystical martial artist. Following his death, his remains mysteriously disappeared.The release date is either in August or September. You'll find the promo reel (Mandarin with English subtitles) embedded below.
Hundreds of years later, Zhang, a high-ranking court official, is assassinated by Drizzle. Zhang's son Jingxiu, whilst mourning his father's death, is assailed by a group assassins. They leave him for dead, but somehow he survives and escapes their clutches.
Drizzle, a talented warrior herself, finds herself in possession of Bodhi's remains, and begins her quest to return them to their rightful resting place at Yunhe Temple. The Black Stone, a team of deadly assassins who employed Drizzle, are also after the remains and the powerful secret they hold. To hide from The Black Stone, Drizzle undergoes drastic facial surgery and changes her name to Zeng Jing (Michelle Yeoh). She flees to Beijing, where she meets and falls in love with Jiang, soon to become her husband.
After a confrontation in Beijing, Zeng Jing's identity is uncovered and both she and Jiang must flee for their lives. As Zeng Jing kills off members of the gang while they are on the run, she quickly realizes Jiang is actually Jingxiu, and he is seeking to avenge his father's death. This leads to a lethal triangle and a fight to death between our hero Zeng Jing, Jiang and The Black Stone.
The only question remains who will be the last ones standing to uncover the secret of Bodhi's remains?
Related Links
Video
Video removed at producer's request.
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This looks awesome, so many good movies coming up that it is a joy to be a Asian movie film fan these days. Bring it!
Looks delightfully oldschool, but is it just me, or doesn't the picture look framed for a taller image and then cropped to scope?
Either way, as a Woo-fan I'll keep a keen eye on this one!
I look forward to seeing angeles woo on the big screen :)