I say this all to say that folks have been fallen all over themselves for the Chinese drama, THE ASSASSIN, which is indeed a solid film but nothing I haven't see before

| Sep 1, 2017

Magical and utterly mesmerising.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 24, 2016

A film that gains greatly from second or third viewings.

| Jan 22, 2016

May just be the most tedious and enervating kung-fu movie ever conceived.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 22, 2016

The director pays exhaustive attention to sound editing and mise-en-scène.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2016

It's a wonderful thing to behold. It's also a frustrating beast to absorb.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2016

A breathtaking work of art which revolves around a haunting female lead.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 21, 2016

It's steadily paced, with more long-held contemplative shots of natural beauty than bursts of impressive action, and an elastic, dream-like sense of passing time.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 18, 2016

"The Assassin" is gorgeous to look at, but not all that compelling to watch.

| Original Score: C | Jan 15, 2016

It's a rich and, for this viewer at least, rewarding experience.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 11, 2015

It's so lovely, from the brocade draped interiors to the mist moving over a landscape in the half light, like a series of confounding paintings placed end to end.

Full Review | Nov 10, 2015

The visuals relegate the acting to secondary importance. They overwhelm the story. And they make "The Assassin" unforgettable.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 5, 2015

One hallmark of a good action director is the ability to make stillness and silence as dramatic as movement and noise. The Assassin, directed by Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-hsien, carries this principle as far as it can go.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 5, 2015

Part of the problem is Hou's style works at odds with the material.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Nov 2, 2015

The Assassin is like some stereotypical beauty - gorgeous, but frustratingly incapable of prolonged conversation.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 30, 2015

It's so elliptical in its approach that there's no love for anyone, or anything, outside of beauty. It can be admired - greatly, even - but it can't be felt.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 29, 2015

It's not for everyone. But if you think it's for you - if you believe that beauty is its own reward - find the biggest canvas on which to behold this movie that you possibly can. It's IMAX for aesthetes.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 29, 2015

Although Hou Hsiao-Hsien's The Assassin is technically a wuxia film - martial arts, swordplay, the whoosh of arrows in flight - it is much more a film of stillness, quiet, beauty.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 29, 2015

As with Wong Kar-wai's "The Ashes of Time," Hou's take on the martial-arts flick is affectionate, but may frustrate fans of the genre. "The Assassin" is a mood piece, evoking rather than explaining.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 29, 2015

Hou's kinetic yet serene approach to martial arts is like watching a fast-moving river. It's less about the plot and body count and more about contemplating a story rich in symbols and multiple meanings.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 29, 2015