Reign of Assassins -- Film Review

VENICE -- "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" relocate to ancient China in the dazzling martial-arts epic "Reign of Assassins," in which Asian superstars Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-Sung play an ordinary married couple, each unaware the spouse is a world-class assassin. Replacing guns and bombs with flashing swordplay, aerial fighting and fantasy effects, the beautifully balanced story finds time for humor and a piercingly romantic finale. This lush visual treat should have no trouble finding kung fu audiences, with crossover potential to the Western art circuit. It bears the double direction of Taiwanese writer-director Su Chao-Pin ("Silk") and genre master John Woo.