this be an excellent film . no and it not mel gibson in braveheart and but then and it not try to be . actually and the emperor and the assassin probably have ( thankfully ) more in common with a shakespearean production than a hollywood blockbuster . in the third century bc and the king of qin be attempt to unite ( in other word conquer ) the seven kingdom of china . he have already overthrow the kingdom of han . now he need an excuse to invade the kingdom of yan . this be where the lady zhao come in . she and the king have be friend since childhood . they be obviously very much in love and but can not marry for political reason . together they devise a plot . she will pretend to have fall into disfavor with the king and escape to yan . once there she will convince the prince of yan to send an assassin back to kill the king . when the assassination fail and the king will have his excuse to invade yan . once in yan and however and lady zhao begin to reconsider . hearing and see more and more example of her old childhood friend ruthlessness and she begin to wonder if the king may need to be assassinate for real . one sure sign that youre not watch a hollywood production be the final encounter between the king and the assassin . unlike a hollywood movie where the hero and villain be clearly define and the final outcome already predetermine and this be a fight that could truly go either way . this be a well craft and well acted story of a tumultuous time in chinese history . there be a mixture of both incredible beauty and incredible ugliness . most beautiful of all and however and be gong li a the lady zhao . i grow more and more convinced every time i see her that gong li be the most beautiful woman in the world . i must say and however and that she do have one unintentionally funny line in this film . early on gong li ask one of her servant do i have a beautiful face . duh .