Les Espions de l'aube

Acclaimed Chinese director Yimou Zhang (House of Flying Daggers, Hero) already has a hall of fame career and his new spy film is pretty decent. It has its qualities, the foreign reviews are happy, but I didn't enjoy it completely. It's set in the 1930s where four special agents return to China on a secret mission, but they are betrayed and danger lurks at every turn. Filmed very nicely, 80% of the film takes place in a snowy setting, the action is pretty good (no battles fights, more like gunfights), though nothing too gripping or wow. The R-rated action is used normally, but it doesn’t look cheap, you can see it is an A-list production. I did like one torture scene that was reminiscent of Hostel in its setting, and there were a few twists and turns, though I have to admit that at times I got lost in the plot and wasn't engrossed enough to be able to fully immerse myself in the film, which is probably the fault of the material. It's not a bad film though, it's worth seeing and it will definitely find its fans. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5, Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5. 6/10. (07/08/2021)