---
title: "The Assassin: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-assassin/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-assassin"
critics_score: 77
critics_reviews: 24
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Assassin (2015): what the critics said

Critics' score 77 from 24 reviews: 19 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics admire The Assassin, and the praise gathers almost entirely around how it looks. The reviews return to the long, still compositions, the mist and fabric the camera peers through, and the resemblance to classical Chinese painting. Hou Hsiao-hsien’s patient, observational style, applied to a wuxia story, is the point of interest: the fights are brief and spare, and several critics find them better for it. Shu Qi’s performance and the period detail in interiors and costume are singled out repeatedly.

The reservations are about pace and story. Even admirers call the film slow and hard to follow, and a few find its characters thinned out. The spread is wide, from full marks to outright rejection: Digital Spy finds it dramatically paralysed and aloof, Paste emotionally and narratively impoverished, and the Evening Standard loses patience with the plot as tension drains from the second half. The dissenters concede its beauty; what divides critics is whether beauty is enough.

## Little White Lies — Violet Lucca

Rating 4/5/5. 21 January 2016. 

The critic calls it one of the most beautiful films of the year, praising its layered textures, formal precision, and Shu Qi's haunting performance as the emotional center of this enigmatic wuxia tale.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-assassin)

## Slant Magazine — Jesse Cataldo

Rating 4/4. 18 September 2015. 

Hou familiarizes Tang dynasty China in a wuxia tale less concerned with eulogizing values than exploring them, carving out a rich emotional sphere and finding delicate poetry in the dispassionate pursuit of revenge. The film is aggressively slow and difficult to follow but rewards with visual splendor and a painterly style of withdrawal.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-assassin/)

## Film Comment — Kent Jones

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 2015. Festival review. 

The critic is awestruck by the film's refinement, economy, and visual harmony, describing it as a spell-like experience of breathtaking stillness and subtle shifts in tone that elevates the wuxia genre.

[Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/cannes-2015-the-assassin-mountains-may-depart-mia-madre/)

## Los Angeles Times — Mark Olsen

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2015. 

The critic calls the film a fascinating hybrid that combines Hou's patient style with a martial arts tale, praising its beauty, emotional resonance and meditative aura. The lead performance and period detail are highlighted as strengths.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-1016-the-assassin-review-20151016-story.html)

## Sight and Sound — Roger Clarke

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2016. 

The critic praises the film's exquisite, elliptical style and ravishing visuals as one of Hou's best, noting its oblique wuxia approach and attention to period detail in interiors and landscapes.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-assassin)

## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Rating A-. 15 October 2015. 

The Assassin is one of the most beautiful and puzzling movies of the decade, a mesmerizing martial-arts period piece that keeps to wuxia conventions while casting them in a mysterious light. Mood and poetic atmosphere are key, with quick, terse fights subsumed by a radical, minimalist yet lush aesthetic.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-assassin-is-as-beautiful-and-transfixing-as-it-is-e-1798185238)

## Variety — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2015. Festival review. 

The critic hails the film as a mesmerizing slow burn that merges stasis and kinesis with breathtaking compositional elegance, the most ravishingly beautiful of Hou's work. Shu Qi's performance and the film's moral clarity in action sequences are praised.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/the-assassin-review-cannes-hou-hsiao-hsien-1201501865/)

## The Guardian

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2016. 

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s painterly tale of Tang dynasty intrigue is a magnificent blend of fleet-footed action, dark magic and emotional realism. The film’s observational style, lengthy wide shots and exquisite cinematography through mists and fabrics create a magical, mesmerising experience.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/24/the-assassin-review-hou-hsiao-hsien-nie-yinniang)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2015. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film a contemplative and ravishing immersion in Tang Dynasty politics and moral dilemmas, reassuring purists that Hou maintains his artistic integrity with measured observation and elegant action bursts.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-assassin-review/5087409.article)

## Time Out — Dave Calhoun

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2015. Festival review. 

The critic notes Hou adapts the wuxia genre to his delicate, realist touch with spare and precise action scenes, resulting in a beautiful, beguiling film that immerses viewers in its rarefied world despite its slow pace.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-assassin-1)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2015. 

The critic praises the film's sumptuous stillness punctuated by extravagant martial artistry and its evocation of classical Chinese paintings. Narrative psychology and character depth are noted as comparatively thinned out.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-assassin)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 January 2016. 

The review describes the film as beguiling yet baffling, with a steadily paced, dream-like quality focused more on contemplative beauty and emotions than clear plot or action, though it fascinates even without full understanding.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/assassin-2-review/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2015. Festival review. 

The film offers an idiosyncratic, personal take on the martial arts genre with bursts of swift swordplay amid long, still landscapes. It is extraordinarily beautiful but its refinement and narrative ambiguity may limit appeal beyond art film fans.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/assassin-cannes-review-797267/)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2015. 

The critic describes the film as a stately, graceful action movie with bursts of choreographed violence that otherwise unfolds like a series of exquisite paintings. Hou Hsiao-hsien's visual beauty and formal innovation are singled out for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/movies/review-the-assassin-finds-delight-in-a-deadly-vocation.html)

## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2016. 

The critic finds the film gorgeous and novel in its languorous take on martial arts and representation of violence, but criticises its ridiculous plot, lack of humour and diminishing tension in the second half.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-assassin-film-review-kung-fu-nun-and-an-unlikely-hit-girl-a3163046.html)

## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2015. 

The critic commends the hypnotizing cinematography, detailed historical production and costume design, and how the film transcends the wuxia genre with its emphasis on stillness, light, and natural female agency.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-assassin-2015-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Rating A-. 20 May 2015. Festival review. 

The critic describes the film as an epic visual poem of extraordinary beauty and period naturalism, celebrating its painterly frames, minimal dialogue, and rewards for patience despite the slow pacing and sparse story.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-hou-hsiao-hsiens-the-assassin-is-an-epic-visual-poem-20150520/)

## The Skinny — Philip Concannon

Rating 4/5. 13 January 2016. 

The critic hails Hou at the peak of his powers, praising the masterful composition, colour, and rewarding minimalist storytelling for patient viewers despite some narrative opacity.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-assassin-hou-hsiao-hsien)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2015. 

The critic praises Hou Hsiao-hsien for blending stunning imagery with enigmatic storytelling in this wuxia tale of deferred vengeance. The film’s visual poetry, efficient combat scenes, and strong ensemble performances are singled out for creating a hypnotic experience for arthouse audiences.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-assassin-review-hou-hsiao-hsien-shu-qi-chang-chen/)

## Consequence

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2015. 

The film applies Hou’s signature stillness to the wuxia genre, resulting in something that may frustrate viewers seeking energy and action. The critic singles out the sheer beauty of its direction, meticulous production design, and visual poetry as soaring strengths.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/10/film-review-the-assassin/)

## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie

Rating 3/5. 22 January 2016. 

The critic praises the meditative beauty and dignified imagery but notes a lack of pulse-pounding action or emotional intensity compared to typical martial arts films.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-assassin-review/)

## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2015. Festival review. 

The critic praises the film's visual splendor in color and costumes along with the elegant, bloodless fight scenes but notes the ponderous pace and convoluted storyline may limit its appeal to those seeking more action than art.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-assassin-review/)

## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2016. 

The critic finds the film visually beautiful but dramatically paralysed and too aloof, criticising its lack of action and testing the viewer's patience despite festival acclaim.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a780539/the-assassin-review-martial-arts-cannes-hit-is-an-action-less-snooze/)

## Paste — Tim Grierson

Rating 7.8. 22 May 2015. Festival review. 

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s film is a gorgeous, visually stunning martial arts movie that withholds and subverts genre pleasures for something more beautiful and mysterious. The critic praises its lyrical battle sequences and meticulous construction but finds it emotionally and narratively impoverished, stubborn in its withholding quality.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-assassin-2015-cannes-review)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-assassin.md