The Emperor and the Assassin

You know, they just don't make epics like they used to.

And unfortunately, those who might do so are either dead (in particular, David Lean and Akira Kurosawa) or unable to find funding from studios too afraid to take a chance on such risky filmmaking.

Which is all the more reason to welcome "The Emperor and the Assassin," a lesson in ancient Chinese history brought to life by acclaimed director Chen Kaige ("Temptress Moon," "Farewell My Concubine").

The handsome — and surely expensive — results are a feast for the eyes as well as the mind, and it gives the filmmaker a reason to team up again with one of China's must lustrous stars, Gong Li.

She leads a terrific cast in the real-life tale of Ying Zheng, the would-be emperor who attempted to unite the remaining seven Chinese kingdoms in the third century, whatever the cost.

Naturally, the rulers of the other kingdoms aren't too thrilled with this development, though they're certainly not foolhardy enough to try to stop Ying as his forces begin armed "reconciliation" efforts.

In fact, the only people standing in his way are his mother (Gu Yongfei) and her lover (Wang Zhiwen), who are quietly rallying their forces for a coup — as well as Dan (Sun Zhou), prince of the Yan kingdom, who sneaks into Ying's palace but is unable to kill him.

Irritated by this latest development, Ying tries to find a legitimate excuse to invade Yan. To that end, he sends his lover and childhood sweetheart, Lady Zhao (Gong), to find a hired killer in Yan — someone who will then try to kill Ying and therefore justify the invasion.

However, Zhao instead finds Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi), a former assassin who has become a humble sandal peddler after suffering a crisis of conscience. To her surprise, she falls in love with the now reluctant warrior. And, in her absence, Ying has become increasingly bloodthirsty and paranoid.

As you can probably tell, it's a complex plot, with several storylines running at once and more than a few labyrinthine conspiracies simmering beneath the surface. But Chen does a good job of keeping the story as simple as possible.

He also makes great use of hundreds of extras, period costuming and elaborate sets, all of which must have cost a fortune. But none of it goes wasted.

In fact, perhaps the only negative aspect of the film is that it lacks a sense of humor, although warm performances by Gong and Zhang ensure that it's not a completely dour affair.

"The Emperor and the Assassin" is rated R for violence (including graphic sword battles and arrowfire), gore, scattered profanity and a scene depicting torture. Running time: 160 minutes.