Review of Operation Red Sea (2018) by Dale R — 13 Mar 2018

A very good film. There was a tacked-on scene at the end that was outright propaganda, but everything else was there to serve the story. Interesting characters and relationships (for an ensemble). I read reviews saying there was no character development and wonder if that perception is just unconscious racism - all chinese look alike.

i'm not asian but I got a sense of most of the main characters as individuals, and mourned the losses along the way. Physical effects were generally high-quality, including heaps of graphic shots of injuries and bodies (you have been warned) and an isis-style beheading (it does not cut away).

again though, this stuff is not gratuitous and serves the theme of self-sacrifice. admittedly some of the computer effects were second-rate - cgi seems to be the 'jet engine' of chinese cinema.