Reign of Assassins( Chinese :劍雨; pinyin :Jiànyǔ)is a 2010 martial arts film directed by Su Chao-Pin and co-directed by John Woo. The film is shot in China and set during the Ming Dynasty . The film stars Michelle Yeoh who plays an assassin falling in love with the son of a man killed by her gang. After saving her husband and herself from a gang, she attracts the attention of her former assassin gang.
The film began production on October 30 and was shot in China and Taiwan. While shooting, John Woo was on set continually advising director Su Chao-Pin which lead to Woo being credited as a co-director.Reign of Assassinshad its premier on September 3, 2010 at the 67th annual Venice Film Festival where it met acclaim from critics. It premiered in China on September 28, 2010 and has been purchased by the Weinstein Company for North American release rights and by Lions Gate Pictures for United Kingdom release rights.
In an ancient monastery before a giant statue of Buddha, is the earthly remains of an Indian monk with the magical ability to grant control of the martial-arts world. The Dark Stone gang wants this power and sends the assassin Drizzle ( Kelly Lin ) who has previously killed an important minister and his son, Renfeng ( Xiaodong Guo ).
In the monastery, Drizzle kills the man she loves, the monk Wisdom who she was in love with. His death disturbs her and Drizzle decides to leave The Dark Stone. Drizzle decides to change her identity and has a surgeon make her appear older where she assumes the identity of Zeng Jing (Michelle Yeoh) and opens a market stall selling cloth. Zend attracts the attention of the messenger boy Ah-Sheng ( Jung Woo-sung ) who she eventually marries.
Later Zeng Jing and Ah-Sheng are in the bank when robbers enter. As the gang draws their swords, Zeng Jing fights them and saves their lives. This act makes her recognized by Dark Stone leader, the Wheel King ( Xueqi Wang ), who became aware of Drizzle's presence in town. He calls three assassins in his gang: Lei Bin ( Shawn Yue ), Turquoise ( Barbie Hsu ), and the Magician ( Leon Dai ) to retrieve the monk's remains from Drizzle.