The Children of Huang Shi

This film reunites good friends Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat once again after their outing in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. However they don't share any screen time at all. Trivial matters aside, I have always enjoyed watching Jonathan Rhys Meyers' acting (great performances in MI3 and Match Point) Nevertheless, he delivers again with splendid execution in emotions and controlled showiness of progressing from a reluctant to a willing real-life hero. Since it's based on a true story, the character he portrays really deserves my respect. Nevermind his clumsy Mandarin skills. He deserves A+ for effort. Radha Mitchell looks lovely here. Her expected coolness resides well in her character. Chow's English did not seem to have improved much in this film. His acting, as usual, proves to be of consistent quality. Ipoh's world's greatest export Michelle Yeoh was rightly casted as her onscreen presence really suits her character well. It would have made a lesser impression if some other actress was in her role. The story flowed pretty much slowly and at times pretty draggy. As far as true story goes, I guess the slowness brings some much needed impact at pivotal parts of the story. Perhaps my only complaint is that there were too much length of sadness towards the end of the film.

Rating: 7/10