Netflix Drops John Wick-Style Romantic Action Thriller People Already Call 'Heroic Bloodshed'

Love a little gunfire with your melodrama? Netflix just dropped ‘My Dearest Assassin,’ a new Thai action thriller that steers directly into John Wick territory, but adds in a coming-of-age romance plot. The Wick influence is so strong here you can almost see the ghost of Keanu's dog. If you’re into stylish international shootouts and assassins with trauma (and honestly, who among us isn't at this point?), this one might make your weekend watchlist.

The Premise: John Wick Meets Teenage Melodrama

So here’s the deal: the story follows Lhan, played by Baifern-Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul. Lhan’s had a rough start — she has a rare blood type that basically puts a target on her back from day one. Her parents are murdered in a plot to get to her, but before things can get any darker, she’s rescued by a mysterious assassin clan known as House 89.

House 89 becomes her new, highly weaponized family. Fast-forward several years, and the guy who wiped out her parents is still on her trail. But instead of going back on the run, Lhan finally decides to stop running and team up with her lethal found family to take a stand. Bonus: apparently everyone around her is world-class at various forms of killing, whether it's blades, bullets, or some egregious freerunning.

The romantic angle: it's not just bullets flying around here. There’s a ‘who-will-she-choose’ subplot, which may or may not involve some melodrama with her assassin compatriots. You’ve been warned.

Who’s in this Thing?

• Baifern-Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul: Lhan, our haunted, blood-type-endangered lead
• Tor-Thanapob Leeratanakachorn: One of the key assassins, because obviously Lhan can't dispatch an army of villains single-handed
• Porsche–Sivakorn Adulsuttikul: Because even assassin thrillers need comic relief and/or more dramatic stares
• Director: Taweewat Wantha (yeah, the guy usually making horror movies — which tracks, considering the blood volume here)

Style and Action Chops

This isn’t just Thai John Wick with subtitles. Director Taweewat Wantha goes all-in on the brutality fans expect, and Netflix is trumpeting this as ‘action first, but rooted in emotion.’ The fighting is a random grab-bag of genre greatest hits — knife work, tactical gunplay, parkour, and assorted balletic brawling, shot with the kind of intimate scale that keeps things tense rather than cartoonishly epic.

What Critics Are Saying (So Far)

Early reviews are kind of all over the map — which, honestly, is part of the fun with these hybrid genre mashups.

For example, Decider clocks the Wicked similarities, but isn’t thrilled about the combo of action and ‘cornball’ romance. It described the blend as a ‘dull, unhappy marriage.’ Not exactly a glowing endorsement.

On the other end, ScreenAnarchy leans hard into the chaos, calling it a melodrama ‘in the spirit of Hong Kong's heroic bloodshed movies,’ and throws in:

'You can never have too much blood, too many gun battles or too many villains rising from the dead for a satisfying movie.'

That’s the kind of review that makes you want to order extra popcorn.

Should You Watch It?

If you like your action fests a bit sentimental and you’re not allergic to relationship drama amidst the carnage, you’ll probably click with 'My Dearest Assassin.' And if all you want is a steady stream of inventive violence, this delivers — romance subplot or not.

Either way, it's streaming now, and if nothing else, it's proof that the John Wick ripple effect has officially reached Thailand — with a little extra blood and, yes, a lot more feelings.