Thirteenth. Bodyguards and Assassins by Teddy Chen (2009)

Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Director: Teddy Chen
Award: Best film in 29th Hong Kong Film Awards

At first look, bodyguards and assassins seems like the usual action kungfu movies where the good guy went through hardships and fight his way through and eventually got the hard earned victory. But director Teddy Chen opt to deviate from the norm and focus more on political and historical build up in the movie.

The movie basically comprises of two portions: the first part focuses on character development and place them into historical context of the movie and how the characters are related to one another. Despite effort in developing characters, I think that due to the larger number of characters involved in the story, some of the character development are not complete or lacks the depth such that it still leaves the audiences scratching heads thinking how he comes to play in the story. An example will be the character played by Leon Lai, a martial art expert previously from a rich family who later became a beggar. His character is being called upon late in the movie and mainly flashbacks are given to portray how he comes about. It seems that his appearance in the movie is very abrupt and less convincing.

The second part is where the carnages set in with the bodyguards, recruited by Li Yutang, protecting Sun Wen as he attends the meeting to discuss his plan for revolution and leaves Hongkong safely. They are met with assassins from the Empress Dowager Ci xi, led by Yan Xiaoguo, who will try by all means prevent the meeting to occur. It is near an hour of intense fighting and bone breaking moments, with actions which I think are choreographed nicely, action flicks are sure to love it! I think that director Chen succeed in building up the atmosphere and tension for this portion of the movie.

The ending of this movie is unexpected and definitely bring tears to the weak hearted, with the bodyguards all sacrificing themselves for the safety of Sun Wen. This is unlike normal Chinese films where the good triumph and everyone lives to see the good days ahead. I feel that this is to portray the true historical context whereby it is never easy to achieve freedom and build a republican government, sacrifices have to be made. Judging by the action choreography and the effects provided, I felt that it is a good film. However, I did not really like the film probably because all his bodyguards died. I wanted to like it but I did not. Maybe in my mind, I really did not like the triumph of evil in the movie.

[1] Bodyguards and Assassins Review. Retrieved on 28 April 2011 from http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2009/12/bodyguards-and-assassins-review.php
[2] Bodyguards and Assassins. Retrieved on 28 April 2011 from http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/bodyguards_assassins.html
[3] Donnie Yen heads 'Bodyguards and Assasins'. Kungfu Cinema. Retrieved on 28 April 2011 from http://www.kungfucinema.com/donnie-yen-headsbodyguards-and-assassins-6195
[4] Bodyguards and Assassins - Film Review. Retrieved on 28 April 2011 from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/bodyguards-and-assassins-film-review-29227
[5] Bodyguards and Assassins Review. Retrieved on 28 April 2011 from http://martialartsmoviejunkie.com/movie-reviews/bodyguards-and-assassins-review/