An exiled swordsman joins an ambitious general (Danny Yee) in an attempt to overthrow the Wu kingdom by recruiting a loyal assassin (David Chiang) to kill its warlord.

Its costumed tragedy meets swashbuckling swordplay in the Three Kingdoms of ancient China in Night of the Assassin, an independent film that reunites Shaw Brothers veterans, director Baau Hok-lai and action star David Chiang. Sadly, it’s doesn’t match SB standards, particularly in the cheap set design and poor writing.

Set during the era of the Three Kingdoms, Ko Keung stars as a swordsman forced to flee the Shu kingdom after the king murders his family. He never gets a chance to get his revenge, but he does enter the Wu kingdom and hook up with an ambitious lord played by a righteous Danny Lee who has problems of his own. The king of Wu is a dastardly fellow and Danny’s open opposition to his policies is an annoyance that assassins are sent to take care of, two of whom are dressed as tigers to scare away Danny’s guards! Ko Keung steps in to help and the two decide on a plan to kill the Wu king by employing an assassin of their own. Their choice is David Chiang, who becomes indebted to them after Danny saves his girl (Si Si) from a fate worse than death. Chiang trains for what is certain to be a suicide mission for several years. After a false start by the antsy Chiang, the trio hatches their plan during a festive dual of guzhengs (table harps).

It would be great to think that David Chiang’s career outside of Shaw Brothers was as notable, but in truth he generally fell into inferior knockoffs of better SB films. Night of the Assassin is a sterling example. It’s a historically-based wuxia tale that has an interesting premise, but plays out more like a television melodrama. There is some decent swordplay, yet it’s dominated by too much wordy dialogue amid plot elements that make little sense. The art direction is awful with lousy painted walls meant to look like sky and bland sets and costumes. And what in the world were they thinking by having two assassins dressed in tiger costumes? It looks ridiculous and may bring to mind the even more outrageous gorilla fighters in Shaolin Invincibles.

For a swordplay film, the swordplay isn’t anything to get excited about. There are no esoteric or hidden weapons, little or no wire use, and the sparring is standard at best. Chiang is still able to be the dashing hero, but that doesn’t account for much when he’s hampered by a bad story and mediocre choreography. His assassin skills amount to mastering the art of short sword tossing, which leaves his stealth abilities seriously lacking. He’s actually makes for a terrible assassin who flounders repeatedly. It’s sad. There is a beheading which always scores points, but it looks as goofy and artificial as those tiger costumes.

Bad English dubbing can make the film seem a lot worse than it may have been originally. In this case I doubt that’s true, but the voices are terrible. The voice “actors” hardly put any effort in and many of the voices grate on the ears. They sloppily refer to Si Si as a “geisha” (that’s a Japanese entertainer, not Chinese) and her instrument as a “lute” (the Chinese “lute” is guitar-like and is known as a pipa, while the instrument seen in the film is the familiar Chinese harp or guzheng).

There are wuxia films out there that are even worse, but when you’re stuck watching a yawner like Night of the Assassin, it’s hard to believe. More camp qualities and a quicker tempo would have served this film well. As is, there is little reason to waste your time on it and plenty of reason to check out Chiang’s better swordplay films from Shaw Brothers instead.

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