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In the third century BC, King Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) is bludgeoning the Chinese empire into shape. Originally a ruthless but well-intentioned man, he gradually tips over the edge into brutality and his disillusioned lover plans an assassination. But it will only work if she can lure master assassin Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi) out of retirement for one last job.
This could have been a snappy 90-minute, chop-socky flick, but Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) has a different agenda. More Shakespearean tragedy than Jackie Chan actioner, it has all the epic stateliness of opera - but also much of the distance.
Despite some bleakly impressive visuals, it never really comes to life, remaining a feature that's easier to admire than enjoy.
NO VERDICT
Ex-Bethesda dev turned indie says "good things often happen by accident," like that time Skyrim players convinced themselves the RPG's foxes were leading them to treasure
Palworld dev says the studio went dark for months because "the team was getting burnt out from all the social media stuff, I was getting burnt out, our CEO was under attack in Japan"
Metaphor: ReFantazio had to dial back an early battle system inspired by a notoriously brutal 2003 JRPG, because 20 years later, players found it "irrational" and "just not fun"
