Bodyguards & Assassins

One thing that boggled the mind was why the movie had to be dubbed between Cantonese and Mandarin. When the actors who had to speak in both dialects can actually do it, why not have them speak it instead of having them dubbed all over the place? Were the actors not capable of switching back and forth? Or the director had no foresight to plan the dialects properly into the movie? I just find this ridiculous and distracting throughout.However, director Teddy Chan did very well weaving a complicated story with so many characters to focus on. And he devoted time to each of them, making sure they are not lost in the intricate storyline. And though the running time was more than two hours long, the story was engaging enough to keep the entertainment value.What I appreciated most was how real the story felt. It didn't quite feel like a story written for a big budget movie. It was mostly realistic in that sense and the urgency conveyed through the actors and direction was palpable.Except, when the giant came to save the convoy, that was too much of a gimmick. And I would have liked to see how Leon Lai's character figure out where "the most dangerous location" was instead of just saying "leave the most dangerous location to me". That, too, was overly dramatic.Otherwise, it was a nicely executed movie.Rating: 7 / 10