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| IKO UWAIS in 'WU ASSASSINS' |
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| LI JUN LIN as Jenny/ IKO UWAIS as Kai Jin and LEWIS TAN as Lu Xin |
WE WANT to review two TV series we’ve just seen, Netflix’ “Wu Assassins” and BBC America’s “Killing Eve”. “Wu” has ten episodes and stars mostly Asian actors. This is a big break for Indonesian actor, Iko Uwais, who starred in the hit Indonesian actioners “The Raid” and its sequel.
He plays the lead role of Kai Jin, a chef in San Francisco’s Chinatown who meets a mystical spirit, Ying Ying (Celia Au), the very first Wu assassin, who then gives to him ancient powers known as Wu Xing. He doesn’t want to accept it but Ying Ying says he cannot refuse as he was chosen for having a pure heart.
His adoptive dad, Uncle Six (Byron Mann), is the leader of the Triad and wants him to work for his syndicate, but he’d rather be a chef. It turns out Uncle Six is the Fire Wu, who has the power to summon fire to kill his opponents.
In the course of his adventures, Kai will also meet the other Wu villains: the Wood Wu, the Water Wu, the Metal Wu and the Earth Wu.
He is assisted in his fight against evil by his three best friends from childhood: Jenny Wah (Li Jun Li, sexy Chinese actress), a young restaurant owner; Lu Xin (Lewis Tan, Chinese-American), a car thief, and Tommy (Lawrence Kao), Jenny’s brother who is a drug addict.
Also playing big roles are American actress Katheryn Winnick as an undercover cop and Juju Chan as Uncle Six’ right hand who’s very good in hand to hand combat.
Each episode is action-packed and quickly paced. Although the storyline has some holes in it, the show features outstanding action choreography.
Iko Uwais is rather short. He must be just 5’5” or 5’6”, so the 6-footer Lewis Tan easily dwarfs him. But he more than compensates for his being vertically challenged by his agility as a bone-crunching fighter.
He’s also very charming on cam with his Asian good looks. It’s kinda guilty pleasure but martial arts and action aficionados will most certainly enjoy this. The special effects in the supernatural scenes are generally well done and kids will surely enjoy it.
