Review for Assassin: City Under Siege

Introduction

Are we tired of superhero movies yet? That initial thrill that the studios might finally have sussed this most deceptively simple of genres out, with movies like the initial Blade, X-Men and Spider-man, began to fade once the sequels start being churned off a production line. My will to watch these films in the cinema died with the advent of X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-man 3, and I find that I have also started steering clear of the television broadcasts. The last such film I saw was Wolverine, and you'd have thought that the time I spent watching Watchmen wouldn't have been a waste. Alas not, as I found it was too faithful to its graphic novel origins, but lacked the depth. But there is a part of me that still loves the superhero genre, the part that watches Smallville every week, even though it long since jumped the shark, a part of me that will forever be a child. I find that I want to keep that spark of innocence alight as long as possible, and if Hollywood has failed me, I'll just look further afield. They make superhero movies in Hong Kong too, you know?


1945 in Malaysia, the Japanese military was experimenting on prisoners of war, injecting them with toxins to create the ultimate in super-soldiers. However, before the experiments could succeed, the British bombed their base, and not long after, the war came to an end. Now, years later, a Hong Kong circus is performing in Malaysia, although the public entertainment doesn't translate to backstage camaraderie. Sunny wants to be a master of the flying dagger. All he is though is a clown, a clown who is constantly picked on and bullied by the 'real' artists in the circus, led by the knife-thrower Chu. When Chu and his gang hear rumours of a secret Japanese base, filled with wartime gold, their greed leads them to investigate, and Sunny gets to go first in case there are any traps. No traps though, just a major dose of the experimental drug that the Japanese were using, which overwhelms them all, altering them.


Sunny makes his way back to Hong Kong alone where a passing news reporter named Angel rescues him. But Chu and the others are already there, and have already realised what the drug has done to them. They leave the circus life behind, and become the first supervillain team, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong's businesses and banks. Overwhelmed, the Hong Kong police draft in help from the mainland, but their real secret weapon is yet to be revealed. That happens during a hostage situation, where Sunny realises that his senses have sharpened, as has his accuracy with a blade. Against the five supervillains, Sunny may be the only hero able to stand up to them. But while the drug affecting Sunny may have stabilised, the same isn't true for Chu and the others, as they continue to mutate.

The Disc

The disc autoplays with a quick thank you for not being a pirate, and then trailers for Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Demon Empire, and The Warlords. The menu screen has just one option on it, to play the movie.


The film itself is presented on this single layer disc in its native 2.35:1 anamorphic ratio. There is a frame of pixellation 49 seconds in, but otherwise the image is clear and sharp, and the film's bright colours come across vividly. There is something of a yellow tint to the film, especially in darker scenes, while as usual for a Hong Kong film, the weakness comes across in the visual effects, especially moments of CGI. The sole soundtrack is a DD 2.0 Stereo one, mostly in Cantonese, but also in Mandarin, and a smidgen of Japanese at the start. It's a loud soundtrack, in that I had to turn my volume down to avoid offending the neighbours, and the stereo does gain some presence with the aid of Prologic, but for a film of this genre, a 5.1 audio track really ought to be compulsory. English subtitles are provided, error free to my eye, and they are of the player forced variety.

Conclusion

Once you understand that City Under Siege comes from the daft and silly side of the superhero spectrum, you should get on quite well with the film. Actually, given its characterisations and simplistic story, it really ought to be marketed as a children's film, and probably was in its native Hong Kong. However the film's violence, and moments of dark content probably don't play in quite the same way to Western audience sensibilities, or rather in this case the BBFC, which explains the 15 rating that will probably propel it towards an audience that have long outgrown its more goofy charms.


The opening scene with the Japanese wartime test of the toxin causing their test subject to 'Hulk' out before expiring, is probably a little deceptive and as dark as this film gets. When it comes to the present day and the main storyline, it becomes a lot more simplistic and easy to follow, with the set up of Sunny the simple and good natured clown wanting more from the circus life, bullied by Chu and the other circus acts, which quickly sets up the hero villain dynamic, and gives the audience someone to root for.


The transformations into superpowered mutants is done more for laughs than with any realism in mind, with Sunny initially turning into the Michelin Man before settling back down, while Chu and his cohorts become crosses between The Hulk and vampires, with the make up getting more and more outlandish until the film's climax, by which point they quite frankly look ridiculous. Added elements to the story include the investigators from the mainland, who in something of a plot hole know a little too much about the results of a project supposedly buried for 70 years. At the same time, Sunny makes the acquaintance of a TV reporter named Angel, who also becomes something of a love interest. At this time she gets fired from her job for not being young, pretty and telegenic enough (the movie's biggest plot hole as she's played by the divine Qi Shu), and she decides to become Sunny's agent and promoter when his super abilities take him into the public eye.


And if the message of the film isn't obvious at this point, one of the mainland investigators spells it out… It's about ambition clouding perceptions of reality. Her partner wants to defeat the mutant menace at any cost, and it becomes a personal vendetta for him. Sunny wants the fame and fortune that comes with being a master of the Twin Daggers, but will take the fame that comes with being a superhero. Angel wants revenge against her former employers, and will use Sunny to become a bigger success than before, while Chu and his cohorts want easy wealth and power. It all boils down to choosing between reality and ambition, and those that choose ambition will ultimately be doomed. It's a simplistic and unchallenging narrative.


Fortunately the action makes up for that, as in a Hong Kong movie, being super-powered actually means gaining superior kung fu and wire-fu skills. While Sunny may be the comic hero for much of the film, lacking the grace of a skilled fighter, or the physical presence of someone like Jackie Chan at his comic best, Chu and his gang have the kung fu skills in plenty, while Jacky Wu stars as one of the investigators, and his action credentials are seriously prolific. His acting performance in this film is also a cut above the rest. There are some excellent set pieces and stunts to appreciate in this film, although with the finale between Sunny and Chu at the end, it isn't the most spectacular moment to go out on.


Assassin: City Under Siege is a children's film, but because of its BBFC rating has to be marketed as something that it's not. This may cause some disappointment, but I find that I still have an inner child that likes to be entertained (although not by clowns) from time to time, and once I had this film pegged, I found it to be quite enjoyable. If you too have an inner child that longs to be sated, you might want to give this film a try.