2019 / 77m - China
Fantasy, Thriller
3.5*/5.0*
Dragon Palace Female Assassin poster

Watches

January 13, 2023

3.5*/5.0*

Something just a little different. Don't expect anything too out of the ordinary though, this is a typical Chinese streamer in just about every way, except that the plot and genre balance wasn't quite as predictable as most of its peers. It offers a nice variation on the many tomb raider and fox spirit films that have been flooding this niche.

Eunuchs are battling for power in ancient China. The emperor is locked in an underwater stronghold that doubles as a prison. Shi Qi is sent to infiltrate the structure in an attempt to get to the emperor. She lets herself get caught and is taken to the underwater prison. From there on out, she'll have to improvise to complete her mission.

The presentation is pretty decent, the lack of unnecessary CG is probably the nicest surprise (what's there is still subpar, but at least it is mostly functional). It's fun to see a more thriller-based execution for a change, though in the end, the impact is relatively minor. Dragon Palace Female Assassin ended up better than expected, then again, my expectations are pretty limited for these types of films.