Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: "The Emperor and the Assassin" is drama at its finest. Set against the backdrop of ancient China during the end of the Seven Kingdoms, it is not so much the story of how they were unified as it is about the trials and relationships of the Qin king. Extremely long, clocking in at just over 2 hours and 40 minutes, the impatient will shift their seating more than a few times, but the experience is entirely worth it. The crew entirely rebuilt the Qin palace, along with several other cities, from scratch. The sets and costumes are gorgeous. It really does appear to be ancient China. But this is not a film that only Asians will understand, it has a universal message and story that anyone could grasp. The acting is well on par with the best of the western world, and the story is absolutely heartbreaking. This is not a Hollywood movie by any stretch. This film actually takes time to develop every character intricately, and the portrayals of them really make you feel what they are feeling. There is no happy ending, but you will not feel cheated when the credits roll.
As with any foreign film, especially Asian films, the dialogue will be best understood by those who can understand Chinese, but for the most part the subtitles are very good. English speakers(or readers, in this case) will not miss much in the words spoken, but the true emotion can really only be felt by speakers of the language. Chinese is simple in syntax, but extremely complex in its subtleties that just cannot be translated into subtitles. But I am happy they chose not to dub it as that would likely destroy the brilliant performances of the very accomplished actors involved.
Anyway, in any language this is one of the greatest films EVER made, and if you like quality movies at all this film could not possibly disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor and the Assassin
Review: A film for those of us that enjoy foreign films where subtitles are not a bother. The movie is well made and has some historical facts and gives some history of China to those that are not aware of the Chinese history or their past culture. It is a movie and made for entertainment, not a documentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Love and Betrayal
Review: A little history lesson. The setting of this film is during the end of the Warring States Period in China; actually before the First Empire was established. The main character is Ying Zheng, King of the Qin (or Ch'in) kingdom, (which is where China gets its name from). The Qin eventually conquers the remaining kingdoms and forms the first Imperial Dynasty in 221 B.C.The costumes and sets are beautiful. I especially liked the exterior sceens shot at real imperial palaces. The whole atmosphere of the film gave it an air of authenticity. Beside the grand sets, this film is actually a story about how people change; basically the relationship between Ying Zheng and his childhood girlfriend Lady Zhao. You see how Lady Zhao's presence moderates Ying Zheng's behavior, making him a more caring ruler. However, after a plot devised by Lady Zhao herself to help Ying Zheng conquer a neighboring kingdom without bloodshed, the King of Qin's attitude changes. Through the plan, Lady Zhao is banished from Qin and sent to the Yan kingdom with a released prince who was held hostage. There she must convince the Yan rulers to send an assassin to murder Ying Zheng. When the assassination attempt fails, Qin will have a public pretext to invade Yan. Also, public knowledge of the attempt may make the Yan king acknowledge his treachery and surrender. In Yan, Lady Zhao meets an ex-hitman named Jia Ke. She spends time with him trying to recruit him to her mission. Ke was once the best assassin in the kingdom, but has since reformed. Throughout the film Ying Zheng becomes more and more ruthless like the assassin once was, while the assassin develops into a virtuous hero. When Ying Zheng sees Lady Zhao during secret meetings he seems to revert to his old benevolent ways. Then when she leaves again, he forgets all about her. At the end, there is a confrontation between the once good king and the former killer. The film is well-acted. The pacing is slow, but it helps to develop the characters and the plot. The editing is sometimes done is a cut and paste style not seen in American movies, but it doesn't distract you from the important scenes or images on the screen. Remember, this isn't a Die Hard or Terminator 2 action flick. This one actually has a story worth watching. Stick with it, and you will be rewarded.
Rating:
Summary: grand and glorious !
Review: A massive epic, it's the story of the first Emperor of China and is gripping from start to finish. There isn't a single scene that isn't compelling. It's also one of the most magnificently well acted films I've ever seen. The entire cast is brilliant: Gong Li, the two male leads, the Queen Mother, the Prince of Yan, and my favorite, the beautiful Marquis ! There aren't enough superlatives for this film, just see it and marvel !
Rating:
Summary: A visual masterpiece
Review: A tale of epic proportions. The scale and beauty of this film is nothing short of amazing. Chen Kaige masterfully tells the tale of the unification of China's seven kingdoms.This movie sets a standard that is not achieved in Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars
Review: Although this movie wont tend to all audiences, those who have a slight interest in historical works, or asian cinema will find this one quite a treat. Based (quite loosely i am told) on the events of the ancient chinese dynasties, this movie tells the story of an emperor and his empire, and his battle against greed and power.
This reminded me very much of King Lear, almost told with a degree of poetic justice about it. I will also add that this movie is quite lenthy, which may test some attention spans. It is a rewarding movie though, which is definately worth a view.
Rating: 
Summary: stop directing
Review: Another bad one from the worst director, I wish I could give it 0 star. I might don't have rights to review it because I couldn't finish it, it is too bad. I don't undertand for what reasons, he want to damage this famous chinese history story. If the Jinke ( the hero ) still alive, he probably will assassin him. In china, audience laugh at this director: he did better as an actor in this film.
Rating:
Summary: A Chinese's opinion: hated it . Ture disappointment .
Review: As a Chinese who deeply love our history,I hated this movie so much.Actually,it raped our history. The period before Qing danasity is one of the most wonderful age in Chinese culture.It's not like the savage time Chen discribed in this movie at all.For example, the assassin Jing Ke was not a professional killer.He was a well-educated, brilliant gentleman who wants to be a consultant to those kings. "the emperor and the assassin" is a household story in China.What I-- and many other Chineses --have read in "Shi Ji"(a great history book written in Han danasity)is all about wiseness(Jing Ke was a very smart man and he tried many ways to fight with Qing),friendship(Jing and all of his dearest friends knew that he couldn't come back but to kill king of Qing was the only right thing to do,so when Jing took off his friend Gao , a famous musician played a beatiful song for him and the song is about "we knew why you have to do this.You are the bravest man in the world. What you gonna do is worthwile to give up your life")and braveness.This kind of braveness is not killer or even soldier's courage.It's from a man who was well-educated and didn't want to kill somebody and never killed somebody before.He decided to do it just because so many people hated to live under Qing's cruel policy and at that time there was no other way to stop him.So he'd rather give up his own life to try the only way. Another thing is the plot is super stupid and inconsistent.This whole thing was from A woman(Madam Zhao)'s silly ,childish thought? Give me a break. The king of Qing first wanted to scare prince Yan to make him flee so he could have some excuse (for this purpose he even told him"you'd better stay here because your homecountry will soon become Qing's province") and then he just sent his army to throw prince Yan away? And, by no means director Chen can convince me that the king of Zhao would kill all of Zhao's children just because he didn't want them to be Qing's people and those 4,5yr olds would gladly commit suicide.Chen distorted human nature just for a more shocking story,I dislike that. And, I must say, I don't like how director Chen values things.In his eyes, unifying China is the most important thing, so this is a wonderful reason for the character of king of Qing to win so much sympathy.But I think freedom is more important than that.After the king of Qing conqured the whole mainland of China, he burned all of books except medical and agricultural ones and buried thousands of scholars alive.I don't think describing him as a deeply hurted idealist (also, having a terrible childhood !)is a good idea.very creative, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth watching for the final chapter
Review: As I was watching this film, I couldn't help but think of how different the career paths the two most notable Fifth Generation filmmakers have taken from each other. Whereas Zhang Yimou is progressively stripping down his films in order to focus on simple human dramas (compare the elaborate costume dramas of "Ju Dou" and "Raise the Red Lantern" to the modest docu-dramas of "The Story of Qiu Ju" and "Not One Less"), Chen Kaige is building up the opulence of his in an attempt to encapsulate China's grand history. It's no surprise then that Chen's characters are becoming less human and more iconic. The subject for Chen this time is the unification of China (which consisted of seven warring kingdoms) under the rule of her first emperor, and as expected, the film feels like it was crammed with numerous historical tomes. I enjoyed it for the most part but since Chen had already taken some liberties with this historical tale, I wondered whether he should have gone further and distilled from this dense and convoluted story the main conflict involving just the emperor, the assassin and their love interest. I say this not only because this film seemed longer than its 161 minutes running time, but also because the final chapter of the story is so filled with suspense, it feels like a completely different film from the preceding four chapters that dealt with adulteries, coup d'etats, double-crosses, political intrigue, crucial secrets, etc. And why did it seem like the three principal actors were acting in different films from different genres? The emperor reminded me of those over-the-top actors I used to see in melodramatic Chinese operas, while the assassin brooded like Clint Eastwood's William Munny. As for the unimaginably beautiful Gong Li, well, no complaints. She's as eye-catching as Chen's elaborate and well-choreographed battle sequences.
Rating:
Summary: An historical Chinese story of epic proportions
Review: Based on the actual event , this epic is set in the year 221 B.C and tells the story of the unification of China. Action packed and filled with intrigue, passion, betrayals and unforgettable battle sequences, it held my attention throughout in spite of its 160 minute length. The king, Ying Zeng, played by Li Xuejian. is obsessed with unifying the seven kingdoms of China and becoming its first Emperor. His lover, Lady Zhao, played by the beautiful actress Gong Li, devises a scheme whereby she will travel to the neighboring kingdom of Yan to set a fake assassination plot in motion which will give the king an excuse to invade Yan. However, she falls in love with the assassin as the king becomes more and more ruthless. There are subplots, and tragedy and constant high drama. There are scenes of great beauty and of abject cruelty. There is great cinematography and brilliant use of physical space. The deep characterization made me think of Shakespeare. And tragic events that call to mind Greek drama. And yet it is totally Chinese as it deals with age-old questions of whether the ends justify the means. And raises questions dealing with life and death and good and evil and all the blurred edges in between.
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