A sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, "Dirty Dozen" style shoot-'em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action set pieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg.

Brimming with characters - many in near-identical military garb - and bristling with double crosses, this unnecessarily lengthy homage to resistance chooses breadth over depth at every turn.

Working off a budget of $16 million, filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon keeps the unapologetically mainstream but twisty story moving along engagingly despite some less-than-seamless shifts in time.

Assassination is a meticulously crafted film crammed with diverse elements, including sumptuously detailed set design, goofy slapstick humour, and even a meet cute. Best of all, there's a kickass heroine.