Cast Member: Hu Jun

A personal story told on a grand scale ‘Assembly’ is as good as war flicks get, finding a near perfect balance between a personal journey and large scale combat.

Overall it’s a wonderful film, a blockbuster people call it, and maybe it is, but really for us Asian movie fans this is what it’s all about – a hard hitting, hard punching film with a heart of gold and a fist of iron.

As a continued supporter of Hong Kong cinema, it gives me no pleasure to call this absurd mess the biggest waste of a big budget in recent memory.

It never quite capitalises on a spirited beginning, eventually becoming more of a leaden-footed drama than a blood and thunder action flick.

Despite having no conclusion of its own, all of the groundwork of the characterisation and story make the next chapter an exciting prospect.

Part 2 is certainly the superior one, but both deserve individual credit for reviving the dying embers of John Woo’s career.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it succeeds in painting an interesting portrait of an aging gentleman looking for a little redemption.