Reviewed by Justin Bateman
Stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro,
Zhang Fengyi, Chiling Lin, Jun Hu, Yong You,
Yong Hou, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao
Written by John Woo, Khan Chan & Sheng Heyu
Certification UK 15
Runtime 150 minutes
Directed by John Woo
Since bursting onto the Hollywood scene back in the early 1990s, John Woo’s star has begun to fade somewhat. Mission: Impossible 2, although a huge commercial success, received a mixed reaction from critics and his more recent ventures have not had anything like the exposure one might expect from him. But with Red Cliff, we have the best of both worlds – all of Woo’s action pedigree combined with the experience of a man imbued with a passion for a story. And not just any old story but the single most important event in Chinese history.
Although the exact truth of what happened in 208 AD has been lost forever in numerous historical and fictionalised books, most notably the 14th century novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is enough here to represent the gist of this epoch-making battle. The set-up is thus: China is ruled by a young emperor who is being manipulated by his ruthlessly ambitious Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) to declare war on the country’s western and southern kingdoms. With his superior army, Cao Cao intends to defeat them both and rule the country himself. What he doesn’t count on is the two kingdoms joining forces at Red Cliff in a truly epic battle.
And epic really is the word. For a start, Cao Cao’s army numbers 800,000 and Woo takes the opportunity to show us all of them, albeit often using CGI. But more than that, he uses the beautiful Chinese landscape as his canvas, combining light and dark, bright colours and muted tones to wonderful effect. Simply from a visual perspective, Red Cliff is incredible. Just as impressive are the battle scenes, which have some trademark Woo slow-motion sequences but which are always just the right side of flashy – fans of his old school action films will not be disappointed. Then there is the way in which the myriad characters are introduced and the story unfolds, with breathtaking speed at first, and then with a calmness reflected in the protagonists and their approach to war. As well as the action, there is an intriguing tactical element to the story which draws on an intimate knowledge of meteorology, this is a fascinating study of an historical conflict.
At two-and-a-half hours, a film in Mandarin with English subtitles might not be everyone’s idea of a good night out. But the pacing is simply perfect and the characters so interesting (not to mention a swathe of fine performances with Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro the pick of a very good bunch) that the time flies by. There’s even time for musings on music, tea and philosophy, glimpses of an early form of football and the biggest pair of eyebrows in movie history. Red Cliff really does have everything and is one of those films you simply have to see, and on the big screen.