“7 Assassins” Theatrical Poster
Director: Hung Yan Yan
Cast: Felix Wong, Max Mok, Eric Tsang, Guo Tao, Ray Lui, Michael Wong, Benny Chan, Gigi Leung, Ni Hong Jie, Hung Yan Yan, Cherie Chan, Ellen Chan, Rose Chan, Ekin Cheng, Edward Chui, Fung Hak On, Kara Hui, Waise Lee
Running Time: 102 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The glory days of the Shaw Brothers and Cathay Studio in the 60’s and early 70’s may be long gone, but in 2013 producer Eric Tsang and director Xiong Xin-Xin decided to pay homage to them with 7 Assassins. Eschewing the approach that director Derek Yee would take with 2016’s Sword Master, which looked to pay similar homage but by capturing the tone of the classics through a modern lens, instead 7 Assassins goes a more traditional route. Choosing to look and feel like a movie made at the time of the era it’s emulating, both when it comes to its story and its characters, it’s no surprise that at the time of its release Xin-Xin’s sophomore feature in the directors chair received a largely mixed response.
On reflection it’s easy to understand why. While Xin-Xin had a cult following in the world of kung fu fandom, thanks largely to his role as Clubfoot in the Once Upon a Time in China series (he’d play the role for the first time in the 3rd instalment, although features in every entry, notably doubling Jet Li in the original), as a director his 2009 debut Coweb flew largely under the radar. Xin-Xin seemed a strange choice then to helm a sprawling epic that “pays tribute to the Golden Generation of the movie industry” (in Tsang’s own words) as his sophomore feature. Not only is he in the directors chair though, he’s also on action duty as well as appearing in front of camera, which leads me to speculate that Tsang likely had more of a hand in directing that the credits suggest (similar to how he assisted Jackie Chan on Armour of God).
The plot itself is set in 1911 in the months leading up to Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty and eventually established the Republic of China. It’s worth mentioning that Jackie Chan’s 100th movie, 1911, also covered the same subject a couple of years prior (unlike that movie though, 7 Assassins doesn’t come with the endorsement of Chinese government officials). Felix Wong, who’s perhaps best known for playing the fishmonger that fights with Jackie Chan early on in Drunken Master 2, plays a revolutionary transporting a horde of gold which will be used to be buy weapons. Things go wrong though when their journey through the desert is intercepted by the sadistic Prince, played by Ray Lui (To Be Number One, Flash Point), and his gang of hired killers led by Ni Hong-Jie (My Own Swordsman, Silent Witness).
After losing the gold and his comrades, Wong is rescued by a governor who also believes in the revolutionaries cause, played by the legendary Ti Lung, who tells him to head to a village which comprises of former revolutionaries now looking for a peaceful life and to forget the past. The village head, played by Eric Tsang, once participated in the Boxer Rebellion, and is indebted to Ti Lung’s character so agrees to take Wong in when he arrives. Of course, this leads to the tried and tested story of the various villagers gradually transitioning from their attitude of not wanting to getting involved in affairs beyond the borders of their community, to realising they have a duty to save their country and taking up arms once more.
For any fan of Hong Kong cinema, or even purely the kung fu genre, 7 Assassins cast reads like a dream. If there’s ever a discussion of how great it would be to make an Expendables type movie with all of the familiar faces from the genres golden era, there’s no need to speculate on what kind of movie it would be, 7 Assassins is it. Apart from the names already mentioned, the cast contains appearances from the likes of Kara Hui, Waise Lee, Ken Lo, Leung Kar-Yan, Dick Wei, Mars, Jason Pai Piao, Chen Kuan-Tai, Fung Hak-On, Gigi Leung, and Simon Yam. Even Michael Wong is thrown into the mix, playing a Christian priest whose constant bothering of the villagers makes him come across like an early carnation of a Jehovah’s Witness. Wong often gets crucified for his performances and beginner Cantonese, and for those out there who may not be his biggest fan, 7 Assassins is the movie to see him get crucified quite literally.
With such a sprawling cast, who exactly the titular 7 assassins are feels like a trickier question to answer than it should be, however after much deliberation, I believe I’ve figured them out. Apart from Felix Wong and Eric Tsang, Xiong Xin-Xin himself gets in on the action, with the other 4 being played by Max Mok (clearly channelling his character from 1993’s The Assassin), Guo Tao (Blind Detective, Drug War), Edward Tsui (Wild City, Sky on Fire) and Korean actor Yoo Oh-sung (Friend and its sequel, which came out the same year). After numerous discussions, romantic entanglements, and occasional action scenes, the gang set out to take on the Prince and his small army of soldiers to retrieve the gold and come out the other side victorious.
7 Assassins is an interesting movie in that it manages to feel suitably lavish and epic in some scenes, and undercooked and cheap in others. It’s a jarring combination that makes for a somewhat bewildering experience. We get sprawling chases through the desert on horseback which contain plenty of stunt falls, then later there are night battle scenes which look like they’ve been filmed with cheap digital equipment and don’t do the aesthetic any favors. One shot of the village on fire which is framed from a distance was particularly amusing, as the fire is CGI and it appears one villager is standing in the middle of the flames, completely impervious to them. Despite this, Xin-Xin has created a movie which feels authentic to the period it harks back to, and seeing such an impressive cast onscreen together is pleasurable enough in itself.
As mentioned earlier the action is choreographed by Xin-Xin, and is true to the 60’s swordplay era it pays homage to. Those hoping to see what a match-up between Ken Lo and Dick Wei might look like will definitely be in the wrong place, as the action is mostly delivered courtesy of the 7 assassins, with Ray Hui and Ni Hong-Jie taking most of the action beats on the villain side (although Kara Hui does get to briefly face off against Ken Lo). The action itself is a mixed bag, on one hand going for realism and an aesthetic that’s reminiscent of 2001’s Musa from Korea, and on the other resorting to varying levels of gratuitous wirework for the one on one face offs. There’s nothing particularly outstanding on display, and some will no doubt find the switch between realism and gravity defying flips to be an odd one, but for those willing to go along with it there’s plenty to enjoy.
Despite the stellar cast and frequent bursts of action, Xin-Xin’s lack of directorial polish is still prominent enough for it to rear its head even in the shorter stretches of downtime. A love triangle between Eric Tsang, Gigi Leung, and Yoo Oh-sung literally comes out of nowhere, and is resolved almost as quickly as it appears, but is handled in such a ham-fisted way that it manages to linger in the brain. I challenge anyone not to cringe when Michael Wong goes after the villainous Hong-Jie because she wears a crucifix necklace, and his attempts to bring her back to the “right path”. Such scenes act as dull thuds to the pace of 7 Assassins, despite not being particularly long, and would have benefitted in hindsight from being left on the cutting room floor.
Even with its uneven pacing, ultimately 7 Assassins achieves what it set to do, and while it may not be the non-stop sword clanging fest that many may have been hoping for with such an incredible cast, it was also never going to be (unlike Jackie Chan, most of these guys knew it was time to quit action long before 2013!). As a tribute to the Golden Generation of Hong Kong cinema, and one which features an almost inexhaustible rollcall of names from that generation, 7 Assassins is a joy to watch. For those that aren’t familiar with the era it tips its hat too, it’ll likely be a very different story.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10
It sounds like this film could have been so much more than it was. I’ll still check it out one day if I get the time.
That’s a perfect way to put it Andrew.
Paul, it sounds like you got the same thing out of it that I did (in 2014). The movie in and of itself is okay; entertaining enough, but nothing too special. But as a long-time fan of Hong Kong cinema the nostalgia factor involved in watching this impressive cast from the past made watching the otherwise simply decent film a real joy.
I’m glad I bought it when it came out, and though I won’t be re-watching it like some of the classics, I’m sure I will return to it again at some point.