The action choreography of Eric Blaze is way above average for your typical American low-budget movie. Quality martial arts action takes place in the second half of the film and is quite plentiful and varied. All of the screen fighters including John Jet exceed standards. With Jet, dual frying pans become blunt weapons, thrown knives are kicked back at their owner and as many as three attackers are juggled at once through a combination of deflections, slick knife handling and kicks. The main fights see Jet taking on McCullough on the restaurant's roof and Jet battling a samurai sword-wielding Lee. But the best encounter is between Jet and an attacker who shall remain nameless so as not to spoil a plot twist. After being disarmed, the attacker breaks out into what looks like Snake Fist kung fu. This is a terrific and unexpected surprise to see a traditional form where it probably doesn't belong. It's a gamble that pays off thanks to its excellent execution.
Less successfully executed is the gunplay. The hardware and handling of it is fine, but the use of budget CGI effects in place of squibs and other live effects cheapens the look of the scenes they appear in. The throwing knives are also obviously digitally painted in. These are relatively minor gripes, however, that could have been easily resolved with more funding.
Dinner with as Assassin is a fine example of how to turn a modest production into an engaging nail-biter where a simple face-off between assassins becomes significantly more involved. It starts out a little slow, but tight direction and scripting pays off in the end with polished martial arts action and a wicked ending.
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