Bodyguards and Assaassins

by Chris
(Beijing)

Bodyguards And Assassins revolves around the arrival of Sun Yat-Sen in Hong Kong, a man who wants to bring democracy to China. The Chinese Empress won't tolerate this of course and she dispatches a bunch of assassins to take him out. Fortunately, for Sun, there are plenty of bodyguards willing to sacrifice themselves for him, the most skilled of them is the street bum who was a former fan wielding kung fu master; plus plenty of other colorful characters. There's a clear division between the first and second part of the film. The whole first part has little action and relies on the characters and the drama surrounding their mission. Once Sun arrives the second part of the film kicks in and becomes one massive action scene.
Great realistic story (instead of the usual you killed my teacher or bad kung fu dude wants to prove he is best fighter kind of story)
Different pacing-not one endless string of fight scenes--but when the action starts it's worth the wait.
Good acting
Streets of HongKong 100+ years ago look great
Great martial arts