As a kid, I was raised on a steady diet of action films. Particular favourites were the ridiculous B-grade Bud Spencer and Terence Hill films – Italian B-Cinema with terrible dubs. But the films that captured the imagination were the films of the Shaw Brothers and their compatriots from Hong Kong. Films like Drunken Master, Snake in Eagle’s Shadow and of course Bruce Lee’s magnificent yet short filmography starting with The Big Boss and ending with Enter the Dragon, fired the imagination of all the kids in my neighbourhood.

As I grew up, the films faded into my childhood as the big budget spectacle of late ‘80s and early ‘90s action cinema took hold. But whenever I had the chance I would revisit these films and with Jackie Chan finding a western audience first, Ang Lee adapting Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the Wachowski’s bringing Yuen Woo Ping’s magnificent fight choreography to sci-fi with The Matrix, the art that originated in Hong Kong finally found a wider audience. So much so that action films, some featuring martial arts and some not, from various Asian countries found a Western audience. Of these films, The Raid & The Raid 2 have gained a particular fan base, mainly due to the martial arts prowess of the cast and in particular star Iko Uwais.



With Netflix looking to bolster its original programming library, it has given the greenlight to what we all hope is the birth of a new Martial Arts epic in the form of Wu Assassins, Uwais’ first foray into western film. This ten-part series aims to make a mainstream star of Uwais and bring a particular brand of fantasy kung-fu with him – that of the fantasy epic. Aiding Uwais in this is veteran B-action movie star Mark Dacascos, most of you will know him as the chef/assassin from John Wick: Chapter 3 but fans of B-films will know him from such classics as Crying Freeman. Sadly this is where the show fails to capitalize on two potential modern action stars as in the mythology of the show, Mark Dacascos plays a monk who lends his power to Uwais’ Kai through his spirit and thus, they don’t share the screen as either partners or antagonists but rather switch bodies every so often. That’s not quite accurate and if you saw the trailer, you would know what I am referring to, but I’d rather not spoil it.

As an action show, first and foremost, it doesn’t go in-depth into the clash of cultures and traditions that the show could explore...

The show starts off as a simple immigrant’s story in San Francisco with Kai as a chef running afoul of the Triads. In this regard, it is similar to Cinemax’s Warrior based on a story idea of Bruce Lee’s. However, things are not as they seem as Kai is soon thrust into a centuries long conflict as the show’s chosen one, the Wu Assassin, tasked with killing five elemental spirits based on the Chinese Wu Xing – Fire, Wood, Earth, Water and Metal. Moving the story to the US certainly makes it more accessible to western audiences and allows the show to explore some of the immigrant experience and modern yet still traditional customs of the Chinese American community. As an action show, first and foremost, it doesn’t go in-depth into the clash of cultures and traditions that the show could explore, but it does enough to give you an idea of the challenges faced by Asian Americans and immigrants.



This stands in contrast to Warrior which has, at its core, the early treatment and discrimination faced by the Chinese brought to America as cheap labour. Having said that, both shows feature some amazing fight scenes, and this show easily features more impressive choreography given that Uwais and Dacascos are martial artists of many years standing, capably supported by Byron Mann as Uncle Six, Lewis Tan as Lee, and JuJu Chan as Zan. The transition between Dacascos and Uwais is the most impressive of the fight scenes as they have very different fighting styles, but the choreography and editing make it seem natural that their distinct styles would exist side by side.

...this show easily features more impressive choreography given that Uwais and Dacascos are martial artists of many years standing...

Sadly the choreography is tempered by the use of “shaky cam”, a very western tool meant to convey the speed and unpredictability of battle. All it does is make it difficult to follow the action as to who is fighting who and prevents the viewer from fully appreciating the near superhuman talents of the actors and stuntmen. Luckily the directors have stayed away from the modern quick cut editing style, ensuring that you won’t get completely lost when the punches and kicks start flying.



The weakest part of the show is the fantasy story - it just isn’t that well executed the way some other shows have updated vampire myths and a magic into the modern world. The story is weak as the show never explains what about the Wu Xing corrupts their hosts and how or why they only spell doom for the world when they come together. Surely such powerful beings are capable of ruling the world or parts of it without the aid of the others? And the powers of the Wu Assassin are given short shrift in a brief training sequence that shows Kai come into his full power with little or no demonstration of struggle. And as to why the sacrifice of the thousand monks who inhabit his body are able to give him the power to resist the Wu Xing powers and kill them is also never properly explained – all we know is that Kai is the chosen one and that, only with the power of the Wu Assassin, can he defeat them.



The weakness in the story would be forgivable if the script and the acting were good enough to cover the deficiencies, but they aren’t. None of the actors are done any favours by cliched writing and character arcs that snap in new directions with alarming speed. Kathryn Winnick’s CG is particularly poorly written as she goes from undercover cop to a believer in the supernatural and a criminal accomplice in a heartbeat. She expresses scepticism every now and then but quickly goes back to just helping Kai for no reason other than she believes in this apocalyptic myth. Uwais, sadly isn’t a particularly emotive actor beyond anger and confusion, not that the script calls for much more. However, this is his first English speaking role so I am sure that he can refine his craft and become a better actor. The most nuanced performance is the one given by veteran Byron Mann; his Uncle Six is a criminal seeking to rule and protect Chinatown, and he doesn’t care to expand his sphere of influence beyond those few blocks. He also wants to build a relationship with Kai, his son. These two things make him far more sympathetic than any character in the show. Even the eventual big bad, the Wood Wu Xing who does have, on paper, a sympathetic rationale for his actions elicits no sympathy as his corruption is never explained so his actions cannot be interpreted in any sort of sympathetic light.

Wu Assassins is a decent show, decent in the sense that we must make do with what we have in the martial arts action genre. The fight choreography makes up for much of the story and acting shortcomings but isn’t quite enough to lift this to must-watch status. It is, however, a show that’s good for a lazy weekend when you are in the mood for some good fight scenes and have nothing better to watch, but I’d keep the remote handy to fast forward through some of the slower scenes.