Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

CJFouraki I thought Assassination was really good, and it was an enjoyable and worthwhile watch at 2 hours, not overstaying its welcome.The acting was great all across the board. Jung-woo Ha and Dal-su Oh worked really well together on screen as the contract killer duo. Jung-jae Lee was also really great as the defector. Ji-hyun Jun and Jin-woong Jo were also good in their roles, and the supporting cast also did a fine job.The cinematography and editing was really well done, giving us a lot of smooth shots which worked excellently during the action sequences, giving it a punchy, yet clean feel to it. It was gorgeous to look at and wasn't hard to follow at all.The story was really good, providing plenty of twists and turns and backstabbing delight, throwing the characters into more and more trouble. It portrayed a harsh world to live in and the Japanese were not portrayed favourably at all in this film. They were essentially asian Nazis, evil bad guys, cannon-fodder. The most interesting antagonists were the Koreans who had aligned themselves with Japan.There are a few moments where you might ask yourself why certain things were allowed to happen throughout, such as letting a suspect walk away into a room on their own when they're in the middle of being arrested. But nothing major enough I feel to take away from the film overall. Sometimes the story may seem a little clustered and muddled, but it doesn't insult your intelligence and everything falls in place as it goes along and becomes fully cohesive by the time the credits rolling, creating a satisfying spy film.My only gripe with this film that I don't see any of the other reviewers has a problem with, was the films soundtrack. I didn't like it at all. It seemed like royalty free music and really brought the movie down at points which was disappointing. Over-dramatic and cheesy at points, unfulfilling and un-epic when it needed to be at others. The sound design is well done though and the action scenes sound great.The set design, costumes, lighting, atmosphere of the film looks stunning, genuinely taking you back to the 1930s. It's a feast for the eyes and is awesome to look at. It was humorous, however, with the vehicles as they didn't move fast at all most of the time, moving at a running pace, but thankfully the gun-play amped up the tension and excitement.This movie has its problems but I still recommend it, as it is engaging, fun and thrilling. It's not the best Korean movie by any means and it's far from the worst. Dong-hoon Choi has done a really good job here, but not as good as his 2012 film, The Thieves. So overall, I recommend watching this movie as it was a satisfying 2 hours for me, with a good story and cool characters that you care about, with a satisfying pay-off. 7.5/10 really good Korean film.

KineticSeoul Watching this movie was like watching another Korean movie called "Anarchists". Which is another fictitious movie with few real historical figures that takes place during a time where Korea was dominated by another country. The story in this however just wasn't all that gripping or memorable despite some twist and turns and some betrayals. Mainly because there just wasn't enough development for the audiences to care. I really wanted to like this movie but was sort of bored with it most of the way through. Other fictitious movies like "Bodyguards and Assassins", is at least more entertaining to watch than this. The direction in this just wasn't as fluid and even the action sequences are very easily forgettable. A movie such as this that revolve around freedom fighters should have more of an impact. The acting is okay, but doesn't stand out because of the poorly written characters. They just don't seem to have that interesting factor or much depth. I was focused more on when this movie would end while sitting through it over how exciting it was. It just didn't have elements that really made you want to care about the cause or the characters. Since it didn't really show the darkside of the situations nor did it have good chemistry between the characters. There is also quite a bit of ridiculous plot holes and scenarios that just doesn't make much sense at all. I am not a fan of Jun Ji-hyun or anything like that, but she was alright in this though. This movie is driven more by patriotism and the cause over anything else to get the audiences attention, but the execution was childish for all the wrong reasons.5/10

subxerogravity It's another amazing film from Korea. There was a lot of stuff to take in, that could be overwhelming for someone like me who has to use subtitles to keep up. A lot of sub stories were going on around the main story of Japanese occupation of Korea.Lucky for me the film making was very visual, the best way to weave a movie so it was not hard to understand everything that was going on and there was a lot, but it all fit together beautifully. The cinematography was well done as well as the costumes designs and I loved the action sequences. There was scenes that used CGI, but they did not over use it which is done too much in pictures.Very impressive.

drjgardner This is a marvelous film about the Japanese oppression suffered by the Koreans over 4 decades. Most of the film is set in 1933 during an assassination attempt on a Korean collaborator and a Japanese official responsible for horrors inflicted on the Koreans in Manchuria in 1931. The central character is a sniper for the Korean Independence Army (Jun Ji-hyun) who takes on the assignment. The film is filled with all sorts of interesting characters, with names like "Hawaii Pistol" and "Big Gun", and there are double crosses and even triple crosses along the way.The photography is terrific, the atmosphere is nostalgic, and even the music adds to the film's value. Writer-Director Choi Dong hoon keeps the acting moving right along.Rather than merely an assassination film, this is more of a story of relationships, and at the core is one family's journey through the tumultuous times, although you may not recognize this at first.The subtitles are a little hard to read, and some of the characters are hard to tell apart, but otherwise this is an excellent film. I was particularly taken with the acting of Jun Ji-hyun and Ha Jung- woo