StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Tweekums In the year 208 AD Prime Minister Cao Cao persuades the Han Emperor that he should be allowed to lead an army to unite all of China by invading Xu and East Wu, who are declared rebels. After his initial success these kingdom's form an alliance and prepare for battle at the strategic fortification at Red Cliff. Cao Cao's forces massively outnumber the 'rebels' but their skilled tactical leaders lead to an early victory… however Cao Cao still has a massive naval force positioned across the river from Red Cliff.This, the first half of John Woo's epic telling of the Battle of Red Cliff, is full of the sort of exciting action one would expect from Woo. There are numerous large scale battle scenes that are among the best I've seen. They capture the confusion of close quarters fighting as well as some of the brutality. The characters are interesting and the 'rebels', who are clearly the 'good guys' here are likable. This is largely because away from the fighting, politics and strategic discussions there are several lighter moments; many featuring a princess who wants to play her part in the battle and certainly doesn't intend to be married off. The cast does a fine job bringing their characters to life and keeping things interesting so I was never bored despite the fact that this film is well over two hours long but only tells the first half of the story. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of historical Chinese action films even if I can't say how close it is to the known facts about what really happened… it certainly left me looking forward to Part Two.These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Anssi Vartiainen Red Cliff takes place in the 3rd century China, just prior to the legendary Three Kingdoms period. Chancellor Cao Cao is on a campaign to reign in the southern warlords that have risen against the Han dynasty. Or at least that's his official reason for going to war. The southern armies form a coalition against this threat and it all comes down to the Battle of the Red Cliff.The film is directed by the renowned Hong Kong action director John Woo and that definitely shows. The whole film has a great presence throughout, even the abridged Western version I saw to my great shame. The characters have charisma and layers, the action scenes are fantastic and it's larger than life in the best way possible. No way they had these kinds of vast, epic battles in the 3rd century with highly sophisticated formations, war machines, fortifications and tactics, but you don't let that bother you. A movie is allowed to be epic if it is done this well.My only real regret is that I haven't managed to get my hands on the original two-part version, which is almost five hours long. The abridged version is just over two hours and it definitely feels like there are certain things missing. The scope and the grandeur are still there, but there are a lot of characters and not all them are as fleshed out as they perhaps should be. We also seem to move from one battle to another without any great pauses.Still, even this shorter version is definitely worth a watch for all fans of historical epics.

bbickley13-921-58664 This movie was epic. Everything about it screams enormous.What I find interesting about Chinese cinema is that most of their epics especially their "blockbusters" are never about fictional characters. They are about real Chinese heroes who are made into legend through stories and film.The movie is long. So long Peter Jackson was even like hold up man. I had to watch it it three pieces.But it's worth it to get an epic 25 min war battle.And It's a John woo film. No wonder the action scenes are so well done.The Movie makes more room for the action of the strategies of the war rather that talking through out. That works for me as a foreigner.Definitely worth seeing, but you have to shelf some time to do so.

Sean Lamberger John Woo helms an ambitious, crowded interpretation of the large-scale military actions that plagued China at the end of the Han Dynasty. While its epic, sweeping scale might be the film's greatest strength, I was often too preoccupied with following the encyclopedically long-winded subtitles to appreciate the visuals as much as I would have liked. Even at a long hundred-thirty minutes, the plot seems breathless and anxious as it hurries through back story, character moment and closed-door strategic debate at a breakneck pace. There's just so much story to tell here, with none of it deemed dispensable by Woo, that even two lengthy motion pictures don't seem like enough space to contain it all. While the planning and execution behind Red Cliff's sublime fight scenes (much of which boil down to a Dynasty Warriors-style plan of "just send one man to wipe out the infantry") is flashy and memorable, I found more value in the thoughtful musings and observations of the calm, collected diplomatic envoy Zhuge Liang. His carefully considered strategic suggestions are profound and moving, like a delicate flower growing amidst the ruins of a spent battlefield. Though one-sided in nature, with an enemy master as vaguely evil and simple as they come, it still leaves us with the perfect setup for what I can only presume will be the mother of all epic-scale scuffles. Deep and dedicated, it's often more verbose than it needs to be.