In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.
For better and worse, South Korean period adventure Assassination is the kind of overstuffed historical mega-production that Hollywood doesn't make anymore.
– Simon Abrams,
Village Voice,
4 Aug 2015
fresh:
Working off a budget of $16 million, filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon keeps the unapologetically mainstream but twisty story moving along engagingly despite some less-than-seamless shifts in time.
– Michael Rechtshaffen,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Aug 2015
rotten:
Brimming with characters - many in near-identical military garb - and bristling with double crosses, this unnecessarily lengthy homage to resistance chooses breadth over depth at every turn.
– Jeannette Catsoulis,
New York Times,
6 Aug 2015
fresh:
A sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, "Dirty Dozen" style shoot-'em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action set pieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg.