We have not seen John Woo in quite some time. You may remember some of his films like Paycheck, Face/Off, Broken Arrow, and Mission Impossible 2. He is a great action director, but he shows a lot more in Red Cliff. He has made an epic war film based on a historic 208 A.D. battle that brought upon the end of the Han dynasty. It looks amazing, has great action sequences, and beautiful scenery. It is a film that brings everything to the screen and is exciting and entertaining.
Red Cliff begins with a Prime Minister-turned-General named Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang). He is ruthless and power-hungry and wants the Emperor of the Han dynasty to give him permission to destroy two warlords that stand in his way: Liu Bei (Yong You) and Sun Quan (Chen Chang). Of course, General Cao Cao gets what he wants and attacks Bei, forcing him to retreat. Bei’s military strategist, Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), knows the only chance they have at defeating Cao is to join forces with Quan – forming an alliance led by Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) – and claim victory to a legendary battle that will change China forever.
The battle scenes are executed very well. Full of action and blood, but it is not messy or over-the-top. It feels like you are watching history unfold in front of your eyes. There is no better way to show an epic war than on the big screen. Swords, arrows, and fire all being thrown in every which way and causing nothing but pain and damage. War is not pretty and Woo does not give you a PG-13 battle.
This film is almost two and a half hours, and most of it is full of action or battle sequences. There is never a boring part because every scene is a piece of something bigger. Something that may have changed the direction of the war or the people involved. Woo has really created an epic war film. Red Cliff is beautifully shot and the action is well-paced and appropriate. All of the actors that take part in the film do a good job at portraying men who will risk it all for their freedom.
The way this battle is fought and how it ends is practically unimaginable. I am not even quite sure if I believe everything that happened. Even so, I do believe that John Woo has created something on such a large scale and has pulled it off nicely. Only a director like Woo could handle a film of this proportion. Red Cliff feels like a huge film and it is. It should be.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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