Night of the Assassin - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Night of the Assassin



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



AV NIRVANA is member and reader-supported. When you purchase an item using our links, we might earn an affiliate commission.
​

Movie
Before I did this review I almost started my rough draft out by talking about Well Go USA’s Hi-Yah! Streaming service movies being middle of the road, but then noticed that “hey, Night of the Assassin actually isn’t a Hi-Yah! Film” and after a little bit of research found out that this was an actual honest to goodness Korean theatrical film that was released internationally under the title The Assassin. I can kind of see how I felt that this was a DTV streaming film, as the plot wanders a bit, the sets are a bit cheap, and the cinematography is just a bit too glossy and digitalesque for what I would normally associate with a theatrical film. That being said, I actually enjoyed Night the Assassin, with it’s slightly comedic

Inan (Shin Hyun-jun) is the titular assassin who just so happens to be suffering from a heart problem. He’s legendary for being the single best assassin in the region, but his genetic heart problem has gotten to the point that it’s going to kill him if he continues to engage in high energy activities, such as you...you know, killing people and fighting. After an attempt on his life by an unknown person, Inan decides to give up his life of violence and murder, instead slipping off into the country where he can wander as a sort of “Ronin”, getting by working for his supper.

After doing his normal “beg for a meal”, Inan ends up working for a poor roadside eatery owner named Seong (Kin Min-Kyung) where he begins a sort of second life among a peasant family of two. However, his life of solitude and pacifism comes to an end when the local thugs try to cause problems at Seong’s eatery, forcing his hand into killing once more. Unfortunately for everyone, the local magistrate, Yi Bang (Mun-shik Lee) controls the gangs as well, and is out for retribution. Meaning it’s time for Inan to bring out the butt kicking and sword slicing in order to save the mother and her son that employees him from certain death.

There’s a sense of deja vu and “this was set up for a franchise” from the film. It’s stipulated pretty early on in the movie that there is some mysterious force trying to kill Inan, but as the film progresses you can see how it sets up the legendary assassin for possibly becoming something more, with extended stories and possible sequels down the road, but personally I feel this sort of hampered the movie as there is this sense of non completion to it. At the same time the film feels oddly cheap and weidly paced. The first act is very much a lightly comedic take on Inan trying to fit in with the life of a normal blue collar worker. There’s a light and lilting stringed score that sort of dances along with the jokes, and the mild slapstick from the magistrate and his loser aids is pretty funny. However, it takes a sharp 180 degree turn around the 45 minute mark, turning into a brutally dark action movie dealing with child death, torture, and general assassin slaughter. There’s also a weird introduction with some supernatural elements (the telepathic/necromancer ability of the female assassin he blinds at the beginning of the film) and a DEFINITE tease for a second film.

That being said, I actually liked the movie a lot. There’s a lot to criticize about the pacing, the weird shooting style that makes the production look cheap, and the open ended ending, but overall I strangely liked the movie. The quirky humor simply worked, and the leads had great chemistry together. I actually rooted for Seong and her son to pull through, and while Inan was the typical stoic hero, he played off of her son as the straight man to his childlike exuberant comedy. All in all, I really feel that the film has a lot more going for it despite the criticism, or else I just was able to overlook most of them and enjoy the oddball assassin flick for what it was. I know I should dislike it more, but I can’t seem to muster up the ability to do so.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Night of the Assassin is presented on Blu-ray with a 1.85:1 AVC encoded disc that looks really good. Like normal, I can’t find much information on the filming style or the resolution of the master, but it certainly does look quite sharp and clear. Sadly, a bit TOO clear at times. The production looks overly digital, without any styling or tweaks to make it look filmic at all. It doesn’t’ have the soap opera effect overlaid on it, but it still looks a bit too harshly digital and “real life”. That means that the very obvious plastic and human created set pieces are rather noticeable, and even the clothing looks too much like prop clothing and too “new” if you know what I mean. All that being said, the image is sharp and clean, with only a few night time shots to show decently large spikes in digital noise (such as when Inan brings Seong’s son back to her), and in those overly noisy spikes the blacks seem a bit washed out. Outside of those quirks, the black levels are more than adequate, with strong depth and shadow detail. Overall a great looking image from a technical standpoint (the film looking oddly digital is more an aesthetic issue rather than a problem with the encode).









Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track (in Korean) is quite a solid track as well. It’s not as aggressive as I would have hoped in some scenes, but during Inan’s few battles the bass adds some weight to the experience. The dialog is always crisp and clear, but I felt that the track was more than a tad front heavy. Ambient forest effects were mostly in the mains without much surround usage, and the film being very quiet and dialog centric the rest of the time didn’t help much. It’s a technically good track, but not going be a shock and awe one either.












Extras:

• Trailer

Final Score: ​

As I said in the main portion of the review, Night of the Assassin should have been less entertaining than it was, as I found more than a few issues to nit pick. Still, it seemed to win me over by the center act of the movie, and except for the open ended finale, I felt this was more than worth the price of admission for a rental at the very least. I liked that it was unique enough, and carried a slightly slapstick tone, even when blood and mayhem was underway. Yeah it’s weird, but I liked this one. Fun rental.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mun-shik Lee, Sung-won Choi, Lee Jung-Min, Hyeon-jun Shin
Directed by: Jeong-deok Kwak
Written by: Jeong-deok Kwak
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: Korean: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Korean DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 101 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: August 8th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Rental