Review of Red Cliff (2008) by Kevin R — 06 Dec 2009

Some plans are best kept quiet.

The Southlands of China are currently ruled by the emperor. His military unit that resides there is strong and well organized but a bit behind in regards to military tactics. The emperor has hired a warlord to ensure that his Southlands are kept safe. The rebellion, who hates the warlord more than the emperor, decides to capture the Southlands by coming through the Red Cliffs. Can the Warlord prove his worth or will the rebellion prevail?

?You wrapped me up like a rice ball.?

John Woo, director of Mission Impossible II, Hard Boiled, Broken Arrow, Hard Target, Windtalkers, Paycheck, Face/Off, The Killer, and Last Hurrah for Chivalry, delivers Red Cliff. The storyline for this picture is delivered in an epic fashion and contains a solid blend of action and drama. Woo does a wonderful job of delivering organized chaos throughout each action scene. The cast includes Tony Leung (Hero), Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of the Flying Daggers), Chen Chang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and Wei Zhao (Shaolin Soccer).

?I have brought your son back. But your wife??

Red Cliffs is a film that was brought to my attention while browsing films at a foreign film DVD shop. The guy at the store stated that this was a better epic than Lord of the Rings. While I knew his sales pitch would be way off, as this wasn?t even as good as Jet Li?s War Lord, it did peak my interest. I will say that the action scenes were awesome and Woo delivered this film with a strong sense of vastness; however, if felt too much like ?Dynasty Warriors: The Movie? (every character?s name in this film is actually in Dynasty Warriors). My wife said that this felt a lot like Troy. Nevertheless, while this is definitely worth watching, perhaps even worth owning, this is not as good as Hero, Warlords, or Musa.

?Every sword must be unsheathed one day.?

Grade: B.