Reign of Assassins

John Woo produces and co-directs this martial arts action drama featuring a love story undercurrent. Michelle Yeoh stars as Zeng Jing, a top assassin for Dark Stone, a criminal organization determined to find the remains of a great martial arts master (said to confer great power on whoever possesses them). The relics are something of a MacGuffin here, an object to set the story in motion as Zeng takes the treasure and disappears into a new life (thanks to a black arts version of plastic surgery) where she is married to a poor but honest courier (Jung Woo-sung). When she reveals her powers to save her neighbors from a gang of bank robbers, however, Dark Stone assassins come looking for her. Reign of Assassins offers a colorful but unremarkable mix of costume drama, romance, and martial arts spectacle with swordplay, flying acrobatics, and special effects. Action star Yeoh is duly enigmatic while Korean leading man Woo-sung provides romantic warmth. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)