Release: Now available on DVD
Duration: 149 minutes
Rating: M (strong battle violence)

Based on promotional materials, it would be easy to mistake John Woo’s Red Cliff for an epic. In one sense, Woo’s return to Asian filmmaking is a broad spectacle that would match anything mounted in a Hollywood blockbuster, but unlike, say, Giant or Gone With the Wind, Red Cliff focuses on events and action, rather than characters, and the narrative does not encompass years of internal storytelling. This is not a slight against the film: in fact, it makes the film so entertaining.

At the end of China’s Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeks to launch a campaign against southern warlords Sun Quan (Chang Chen) and Liu Bei (You Yong). In no time, Woo brings us to the great Battle of Changban. The sequence effortlessly provides a sample of the film’s later action choereography, whilst also establishing several of the major characters. It is clear from the outset that Woo is intent on painting these warriors as almost superhuman legends – their skill on the battlefield is enhanced, but never in a way that inspies disbelief. Sure enough, Cao Cao’s aggression aligns Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and the two prepare to battle the Prime Minister’s fleet at Red Cliff.

While Cao Cao is a major character in the film, Red Cliff’s two central figures are Liu Bei’s and Sun Quan’s strategists: Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Kaneshiro and Leung, as well as Fengyi all play their parts admirably well. This is a credit to Woo, too, whose action sequences are fleshed-out, clearly choreographed, and superbly shot. Woo makes it clear what is occurring in the skirmishes and gives a clear understanding of the tactics involved – something else that’s missing from supposed epics Alexander and Troy.

Production-wise, the film is almost flawless. The cinematography is strong, the editing is robust and the special effects are, for the most part, highly impressive. Woo’s confidence is the major factor here – critics may have ridicule his venture into Hollywood (Mission: Impossible 2, Paycheck), but the sheer chutzpah behind his mounting of every scene is difficult to discount.

It is quite odd, especially in this day and age, to see a film about a military campaign (like Zulu), but it is nonetheless welcome. Red Cliff is big-screen entertainment and deserves its staggering financial success in China.

Timothy Maddocks