Assassination Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Assassination Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 30, 2015

December 7, 1941 may be “a date which will live in infamy,” according to the iconic phraseology of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but Japanese aggression had been the bane of at least a couple of other nations’ existence long before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor finally “officially” catapulted the United States into World War II. There have been a number of films through the years documenting at least some elements of the Japanese incursions into China, including big budget Western epics like Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun or international productions (with at least an eye on western audiences vis a vis casting decisions) like The Flowers of War. Still other outings like City of Life and Death have dealt explicitly with the horrific effects of various Japanese campaigns against the Chinese in the decades leading up to the Second World War, depicting the ruthless efficiency with which the invaders decimated their enemies. While probably even less generally known to a lot of Westerners than the Japanese invasion(s) of China tend to be, it probably shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to find out that Japan had also been threatening Korea for many years throughout the first decades of the 20th century. In fact Korea had been supposedly annexed by its island nation neighbor in 1910, after several decades of quasi control by Japan that began as early as the 1870s. That historical context may help at least a bit to make Assassination’s probably over convoluted plot mechanics more understandable, but it may be an incremental improvement at best. Assassination is a kind of slam bang action film quite a bit of the time, and that adrenaline rush ambience will most likely suffice in offering enough entertainment value that historically under informed westerners may not worry that much about historical niceties that tend to inform the film at least as subtext if not overt plot points. The film begins with a brief prelude setting up various aspects which will finally receive a payoff later (at a running time of close to two and a half hours, Assassination’s payoff may in fact be too late for at least some viewers), before the bulk of the film moves into a pre-World War II era where Korean guerrilla forces are fighting an ostensibly secret insurgency against their Japanese overlords. Spies, double crosses and various other shenanigans abound, to the point that some viewers may feel they need to have a flowchart to document the various comings and goings (not to mention shifting alliances) between the overstuffed cast of characters.

Assassination’s prologue takes place in 1911 and deftly if somewhat discursively sets up the scheming informing the relationships between the Japanese forces and the Korean insurgency. An attempt at—well, an assassination which plays like a precursor to the infamous briefcase murder ploy utilized against Hitler decades later (and made part of such films as Valkyrie and The Night of the Generals). The attempt fails, but toady Korean businessman Kang In-gook (Lee Geung-young) manages to get the Japanese military target of the attempt to safety, which leads Kang to believe he will soon be able to cash in his chips with more lucrative business opportunities. In the first of several little (and sometimes not so little) twists and turns the films takes, it turns out Kang’s harridan wife is part of the rebel forces which planned the assassination attempt, and Kang is having none of it. That sets up the first chase and execution scene of the film, though Kang instructs his henchmen to at least make sure his infant twin daughters are kept safe through the maelstrom.

Those twins will of course become part and parcel of later plot developments, but first a somewhat confusing and weirdly brief interstitial sequence set in 1949 is offered, before the film finally gets to the main 1930s timeframe of the bulk of the story. Kang is still a toady, albeit a much more successful one, and provisional governor Kawaguchi Mamoru (Shim Cheol-jong) is still his go to Japanese provider. Both of these men are considered traitors by the Korean insurgents, and “hits” are placed on both of them as a result. Activist Yem (Lee Jung-jae) is tasked with freeing various prisoners to create a kind of Black Ops group which will take out Kang and Mamoru. These erstwhile “criminals” include Ahn Ok-yun (Jun Ji-hyun), a female sharpshooter whose ruthlessness has evidently included “delivering” a bullet to one of her former military superiors; Chu Sang-ok (Cho Jin-woong), a munitions expert who goes by the nickname Big Gun; and Hwang Deok-sam (Choi Deok-moon), a maybe shady arms trader who likes to make things go “boom”.

This is merely one stratum in an increasingly layered tale of intrigue, backstabbing and betrayal. The team of potential assassins has a turncoat in their midst, and that duplicity leads to yet other killers showing up who are ostensibly plotting to kill the assassins themselves. Assassination becomes a bit of a labyrinth at times, with perhaps intentionally unclear relationships making it hard to divine who exactly is a good guy (and/or gal) and who is not at times. That somewhat confusing ambience is at least partially offset by a generally breathless pace (despite the film’s probably over length) and some excellently staged set pieces. The film manages to work in some whimsical humor while also making some none too subtle political points that will probably resonate more with history buffs who have studied this roiling period in Korea and Japan.

Assassination Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Assassination is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot digitally with the Arri Alexa, Assassination boasts the typically sharp, smooth and sleek looking image offered by this format, and when lighting is plentiful and some soft looking CGI elements don't intrude, detail and fine detail are often exceptional. The film is extremely handsome from a production design standpoint, and close-ups can offer almost palpable moments where things like pill on fabrics are beautifully and precisely defined. There are a number of aggressively color graded scenes, including some flashbacks (see screenshot 5), but detail is never seriously compromised by some of these choices. A bit more problematic are levels of shadow definition in some of the nighttime or dimly lit moments.

Assassination Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Assassination features a very boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Korean. The film has a glut of excellently immersive sequences, including a couple of larger set pieces where explosions, gunfire and hand to hand combat offer great opportunities for well placed sound effects. Even some relatively calmer moments like bustling activity at a train station or some quasi-urban traffic and the like provide good use of the side and rear channels for surround activity. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized on this problem free track.

Assassination Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:40)

Assassination Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Assassination may well indeed be confusing for many western viewers who may not have the knowledge of this epoch in Korean- Japanese history, though even taking the film on its inherent plot dynamics, Assassination is almost willfully unclear at times, ping ponging from character to character and shifting alliance to shifting alliance without much evident logic. That said, the film is relentlessly entertaining, helped by some extremely well staged action set pieces and charming if provocative lead performance by Jun Ji-hyun. Recommended.