In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
china assassination king espionage war coup assassin kingdom occupying power governance concubine warring states period 3rd century bc
Nate H. reviewed The Emperor and the Assassin (1998)
Review from the comment
You have seen The Emperor and the Assassin before. Well, kind of. Just like in Hero, the classic martial arts epic starring Jet Li, The Emperor and the Assassin revolves around the attempted assassination of the King of Qin in feudal era China. This movie is much more subtle than that new classic. There are no grandiose fight scenes to the caliber of Hero, much to this viewer’s chagrin. There is, however, more espionage and coup plotting and a twist that revolves around the king’s blood father and mother that adds to the intrigue. Problems in clarity rise throughout the movie and a ridiculous climax weigh down its power but The Emperor still is worth a study.
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