7 Assassins (2013) - The 'Shanghai 13' of 2013?

[galvatron1976]

Felix Wong Stars in “7 Assassins”

Currently playing in Asian cinemas, 7 Assassins <光辉岁月> is a martial arts film starring Felix Wong (黃日華), Gigi Leung (梁咏琪), Ray Lui (呂良偉), Guo Tao (郭濤), Kara Hui (惠英红) and Well Lee (李煒). Produced by Eric Tsang (曾志伟) and directed by Hung Yan Yan (熊欣欣), the film gathers a team of veteran actors in a battle of revenge filled with blood and gore.

7 Assassins revolve around the unrest after the fall of the Qing Dynasty and a group of down-trodden heroes. After a confidential report revealed that the South faction, led by Iron Cloud (Felix) has taken a pile of gold, the Imperial Army managed to trace him down. Fortunately, he was rescued by a group of Gold Canyon Heroes. In order to capture Iron Cloud, the Imperial Army and the Gold Canyon heroes were caught in a struggle, with a few of the heroes eventually killed. Iron Cloud, together with other surviving heroes, decided to exact revenge for the dead.

Link

http://www.jaynestars.com/movies/felix-wong-stars-in-7-assassins/

[derwood]

has anyone seen this yet?

was thinking of getting it but some feedback prior to purchase would be nice

[TheGrimReaper]

Saw it a while ago - all in all it had a feeling of a series, cut by and edited into on feature film.

The were many scenes just out of nowhere and glued together in one big mixture of revenge, honor and old faces returning on screen.

Eric Tsang is something of a leader to these 7 Assassins and again the revolution in China kick in, as they protect a so called "VIP", who is chased by goverment officials. It had the overall tone of "Seven Swords" minus the swords (with one exception).

The martial arts choreography is nothing special, Xin Xin Xiong relied on the tried-and-true and delivers if not spectacular, but at least watchable.

There are few familiar faces as cameos and was having fun recognizing each legend on screen, but nothing above that. it's not that bad as a movie, so I won't grieve over the lost time, but it could have been better IMHO.

For the whole production values, cast, and martial arts sequences I would give a solid 5/10.

Greetings and I hope that my short comment would be helpful.

[VenomsFan]

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[kami]

It's okay, the action is well choreographed but a bit unfocussed, the story another SEVEN SAMURAI-rip-off, but it's nice to see all these veteran actors together. Nevertheless a slight disappointment, despite the bigger production values a step back after COWEB for Hung Yan-Yan.

[derwood]

thanks for the info

I think Ill grab it for the sake of the casting, which was what mainly drew my attention

figured it wasnt the greatest due to the lack of discussion on here

[David Rees]

I found it enjoyable, especially spotting all the cameos, people such as Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai, Dick Wei, Leung Kar Yan etc. The film reminded me a bit of Blade Of Fury but obviously not in the same class action wise and you just get the feeling that had Sammo Hung been directing there would have been a few more hand to hand combat scenes. The choreography is good, down to earth and brutal, they don’t shy away from using guns and well as swords and overall it is a satisfying and fun film to watch. Not a classic but certainly not a failure either.

[One Armed Boxer]

This is going to be hitting DVD & Blu-ray on September 5th -

http://www.yesasia.com/global/7-assassins-2013-blu-ray-hong-kong-version/1036675257-0-0-0-en/info.html

[KUNG FU BOB]

Very enjoyable, but not great. Seeing all of these stars popping up in the same film- some long unseen- made it a special experience for me. Was hoping for some incredible action, especially after seeing Xin Xin Xiong recently in THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE still going strong, but it seemed like most of his on-screen stuff involved awkward wire-work. Still, in general most of the action was well done. I'll probably pick up the Blu-ray.

[One Armed Boxer]

Very enjoyable, but not great. Seeing all of these stars popping up in the same film- some long unseen- made it a special experience for me. Was hoping for some incredible action, especially after seeing Xin Xin Xiong recently in THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE still going strong, but it seemed like most of his on-screen stuff involved awkward wire-work. Still, in general most of the action was well done. I'll probably pick up the Blu-ray.

Hey Bob, I've heard some people say this has a 'Blade of Fury' feel to it, but the trailer actually reminded me more of something along the lines of 'Seven Warriors', how would you say it compares?

Xin Xin Xiong's transition to being a director doesn't seem to have been a very successful one. His 2008 debut 'Coweb' went unreleased for 5 years, and even then it was only on Region 1 DVD under a different title, it remains without a home video release in HK. '7 Assassins' is only his second attempt at directing, so I'm a little reluctant to take the plunge, especially as the trailers in an earlier post really don't make things look too promising, even with all-star old school cast.

[Drunken Monk]

Would anyone describe this film as "action heavy?"

[KUNG FU BOB]

Hey Bob, I've heard some people say this has a 'Blade of Fury' feel to it, but the trailer actually reminded me more of something along the lines of 'Seven Warriors', how would you say it compares?

Hmm... well, it feels more like BLADE OF FURY than SHANGHAI 13, that's for sure. But only in that it has a similar serious tone and above standard acting performances. 7 ASSASSINS does not have fantastic, stand-out action scenes like BLADE OF FURY, and other than it's plethora of stars, has (IMO) nothing in common with the 90% kung fu action/10% plot SHANGHAI 13. Yes, it feels similar to SEVEN WARRIORS, but 7 ASSASSINS has much more action than that, and surpasses that film in nearly every other way as well.

Xin Xin Xiong's transition to being a director doesn't seem to have been a very successful one. His 2008 debut 'Coweb' went unreleased for 5 years, and even then it was only on Region 1 DVD under a different title, it remains without a home video release in HK.

Man, you said it! Not only was it originally saddled with the terrible title COWEB (not even COBWEB... No. COWEB), but it was renamed the horrible, meaningless-to-the-film NINJA MASTERS! Nope, no ninjas in this film. The real shame of it is that, though it's a mess of a movie, there are some great fight scenes in the film. For those that haven't seen it, you can probably pick it up in a sell-through bin for cheap. But in regards to what you were saying... not even released in it's home country? Ouch.

'7 Assassins' is only his second attempt at directing, so I'm a little reluctant to take the plunge, especially as the trailers in an earlier post really don't make things look too promising, even with all-star old school cast.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable recommending it to you (or anyone else) as a blind buy. I think I was in just the right mood for the film, I enjoyed it for the nostalgia of seeing all of the screen greats from HK cinema past, and the movie moved at a fairly quick clip for me. But I did find myself thinking a few times "After that great build-up, it's a shame that the action wasn't awesome here." Maybe hold off on buying it, and after I watch it again I'll be able to give a more solid opinion, one way or the other.

Would anyone describe this film as "action heavy?"

No, it's more like a good story with smatterings of action here and there, then a good climax.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

 

Found this at my local library.

 

Got to the last fight and have not finished.

Pretty good flix I must admit.

 

Also, once again what a joy to see some of your favorite old school'ers:

 

Ti lung, I did not recolonize him though.

 

Fung Hak On

 

Jason Pai Piao

 

Chen Kuan Ti

 

Lau Wing

 

Leung Kar-Yan

 

Kara Hui Ying-Hung

 

I swear that Yuen Bio was in this movie but not listed on HKMDB. 

 

Did I leave anyone out?

 

The producer Eric Tsang Chi-Wai has been at the helm of many a classic old school kung fu movie.

 

Check out his work on HKMDB.

http://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=4293&display_set=eng

 

 

GD Y-Y

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2015 by GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG

[One Armed Boxer]

I recently got around to watching this one, and gave it the full review treatment over at COF. Check it out below - 

https://cityonfire.com/7-assassins-aka-glory-days-2013-review-seven/

[KUNG FU BOB]

13 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

I recently got around to watching this one, and gave it the full review treatment over at COF. Check it out below - 

https://cityonfire.com/7-assassins-aka-glory-days-2013-review-seven/

And just like that, six and a half years later we are able to pick up the conversation right from where we last left it. You can't do that on Facebook!

I'll read your review later on my dinner break. I am curious what you thought of it.