Rating: 
Summary: Chinese Epic Reminds Me of Shakespeare
Review: This Chinese film from famous director Kaige Chen is epic in every sense of the word. It weighs in at almost 3 hours and unlike many bloated Hollywood "epics" this one feel like it could have used another three.It tells a complex story from Chinese history, but don't let that deterr you from watching it. The performances are first-rate, especially that of Gong Li. Many consider her the world's foremost actress and films like this really show why. The film is also rife with military action that is as good or better than films like Braveheart. There are so many serious moments and grand emotions, that I felt like I was watching a film rendition of Shakespeare. More than once, I was struck by the intensity of the emotions. That is something decidedly lacking in your average movie. Make sure you add this film to you foreign film collection. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Visually exotic and lush, but plot is a little cumbersome
Review: This film has something of a split personality. Clearly, the potential for grand military epic is right here, and the budget seemed big enough for it, but the director also delves deep into intricate character development and tries to fit the story into the structure of a classical Western tragedy, to the extent of creating five "chapters," which unfortunately interferes with the natural progression of the plot. Nonetheless, stunning sets, costumes, and the exotic allure of China in a still unformed and dynamic period make the 2 1/2 hours of sluggishly paced dialogue and action bearable. From the beginning, the atmosphere is palpably different from more commonly known Chinese epics (e.g., The Last Emperor). Still centuries away from being members of a stagnant culture, the characters here have much more obvious pizzazz, and the Qin court is not stultifying, but bubbling with strong personalities and pervaded by an aesthetic that is still semi-barbaric. The king of Qin is at first a rather likable man who is striving to unify China by conquering the six other states who have endured many decades of struggle. The first chapter prepares you for a straight military epic, with which I, as a military history buff, would have been very happy. But apart from brief shots of massive army camps and a few minutes of siege operations here and there, you get no sense at all of the course of the campaigns which are going on; the generals are marginalized as characters. However, the rest of the movie is a intense personal drama that borrows from Sophocles and Shakespeare. The editing is rather choppy and the dialogue seems to lack energy. I won't reveal details, other than to say . . . the final confrontation, which is very well set up, falls flat by having a character survive about 10 sword wounds, most of them to his vital organs, to speak an anti-climactic line. I'll stick to Kurosawa next time.
Rating:
Summary: Revisionist Epic
Review: This is the story about the Emperor who unified China's separate provinces into one country, but it is not a celebration of that moment in history, its quite the opposite. Chen Kaige turns history into a kind of puppet show-- where there is the illusion of whats real and there is the reality behind the illusion. Unification sounds like a nice word but in order to unify all of China much violence must be done to it. This is the reality. Also the Emperor must convince people not just by force but he must make them believe it is somehow his destiny to unite China once and for all. This is yet another illusion that must be presented though the reality behind that illusion is quite another thing. I think the movie is quite good at presenting its characters as complex people and not as historical dramas often do which is present historical figures as singleminded and one dimensional. So if you come to this film expecting an exciting historical epic you might be disappointed because its more a revisionist telling of events with its focus on characters not scenes of epic grandeur. The most famous scene in the movie has the two title characters finally face off and it is quite a memorable scene. It is a long long movie though and it takes a long long time to get there. This one is for the patient, the historical minded. Not for those in search of a battle drama. Gong Li plays a relatively small though important part. Its her character who is married to the Emperor and yet her sympathies fall to the side of the Asssassin. A small but integral part. To western audiences there are no other stars in this picture and that may have hurt this pictures reception. The actors are very good however and if you stick with it you'll be glad you did.
Another film which may interest those who enjoy revisionist history is Robert Bresson's Lancelot of the Lake.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie...
Review: This was really a beautiful movie. The locations, costumes, people, settings, visuals -- all just stunning. The acting is good, the story solid, the music is good and fitting. The biggest annoyance is the funky yellow of the subtitles. This is a movie about power, love, war, regret, betrayal and hate. I'm not quite sure why it's rated R though -- no sex, no language, and while there's a bit of violence, theres very little blood. This is just a very powerful movie very worth watching -- and the ending is not what you'd expect. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic film worth watching
Review: To history majors familiar with ancient Chinese history, this movie is about as disappointing as Braveheart was to fans of Scottish and British history, but this film is still a very enjoyable film for those who appreciate a well-made movie when they see it. The setting of this movie is the unification of China which occurred under the short-lived Chin Dynasty, which only lasted a couple of decades before being supplanted by the highly successful Han Dynasty, which lasted for some 400 years. The story centers around the man who believes that unification of the kingdoms is his destiny, and an assassin who is hired to kill him. The cinematography is excellent, and the acting and character development is superb. The characters are shown as multi-faceted individuals, not the cardboard good-guy, bad-guy caricatures that populate most Hollywood movies. The character of Jing Ke, the assassin, is my favorite. He is a ruthless and efficient killer, and expert swordsman, yet shows that he is not without remorse, and mourns some of the many he has been tasked to kill. The Emperor, on the other hand, sees himself as duty- and destiny-bound to fulfill his purpose of uniting the kingdoms of China under his rule. He too, is brutal and calculating, but also shows how lonely and desolate is the seat of great power. If you're into huge battle scenes like Braveheart, you're going to be disappointed. There are few battle scenes in this movie, but overall, this is an epic on a par with the great ones.
Rating: 
Summary: History of China's First Emperor.
Review: Too bad this film is not in league with "The Last Emperor". Nice cinematography, plot and character development marred by poor editing that jumps from scene to scene making the story difficult to follow. Almost as if the film was tightened from a Chinese mini-series.
Rating:
Summary: History Comes Alive!
Review: Watching the Emperor and the Assassin is like watching history come alive. Before going into anything else about this picture, just the site of the costumes and watching the Emperors soldiers, living breathing moving terra cotta warriors is simply awesome. The history of ancient China leaps at you in this film. The pictures of Xian's Terra Cotta Warriors are famous, but to see them alive in this film is just unbelievable. Kaige Chen is one of the world's greatest directors. His previous film, Temptress Moon, was an interesting look at the decadence of the warlord and KMT period in Chinese history, but its his epic Farewell My Concubine that made him famous. If you are not familiar with Farewell My Concubine, its the history of China from the Fall of the Dynasty system through the end of the Cultural Revolution as seen through the eyes of two Peking Opera stars. If you like Chinese history, you must see Farewell My Concubine. The Emperor and the Assassin is a fantastic look at how the first Emperor of China came to power and unified the various parts of China under one ruler and Dynastic system. Also, if anyone is not familiar with the awesome Chinese actress Gong-li, this film is a great introduction. Often Chinese cinema and Hong Kong action cinema get lumped together. This is unfortunate because they are worlds apart. The films of Yimou, Kaige Chen, and Gong-li are very different from those of Jackie Chan. Both are great, but very different. Watch this awesome historical epic and then I recommend Farewell My Concubine, Raise the Red Latern, Red Sorghum, and the most powerful of all Chinese films of late: To Live
Rating:
Summary: T. E. T. A.
Review: What a beautiful film. Filmed so crystal clear that is is reminiscent of the cinematography of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. At the end of a film like this, your heart aches and you find that you cannot easily shake the memory of it away. Li Xue Jian is magnificent. With his charisma, he is the personification of the intrinsic man. While he is a king, we see that he is also human. A man fraught with fear, with love, with hatred, with loneliness, and while intoxicated with power, he understands that he is powerless. A wonderful performance, which shows the complexities of character and the multi-faceted id.
As for Gong Li,who plays the Lady Zhou, what can you say? Just that her smile alone makes my heart ache as I realize I can never again be content with a woman any less than she.
Rating:
Summary: A great work of political science
Review: When I saw this picture I definitly resolved that I have to go to China and at least live in this wonderfull country for about a year. The history of Emperor Chin, the unifier and founder of China is amazing. This way of doing politics (1200 D.C.) is chocking. Cuando ví esta película definitivamente resolví que tengo que ir a China y al menos vivir en este maravilloso país por un año aprendiendo su historia. La historia del Emperador Chin, unificador y fundador de China es sorprendente. Esta manera de hacer política 1200 antes de Cristo resulta muy chocante.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie!
Review: When the characters spoke of uniting the seven kingdoms, they referred to the "Whole World." The totality of thier world, some 2300 years ago, was China, and apparently Europe or Africa or the New World was unknown to them. They had built up a comlpex and well run society, although their technology seems to have concentrated on warfare and torture. The importance of ambition, family, strength and loyalty are illustrated thoughout the movie, although the overriding element is cruelty. The panoramas are beautiful, and the sounds of language fit right into the action, although the translations appear to be a bit stilted. To me this was a good movie, not becasue of the plot (which I found difficult to follow), but in looking at the way these people lived and carried out thier lives, realizing that this occurred over two millenia ago.
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