The master of Asian Action flick, John Woo is back and as fierce as ever! RED CLIFF is a compliment to the art of war. It’s cunning, clever, merciless, stylized and entertaining. Don’t expect Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this is not an Ang Lee presentation, nobody is walking on trees… once again, it’s John Woo bringing us the war in Han Dynasty and making it about the game of outsmarting, outplaying, outwitting your opponents. Back when there were no guns, bullets, and bombs, people had to be creative in the battlefields and that creativity is what makes RED CLIFF a hardcore kick-ass movie to watch.
“Red Cliff” opens with power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeking permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush two troublesome warlords that stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao’s troops rain destruction on Liu Bei’s army, forcing the latter to retreat. Liu Bei’s military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that their only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted adviser, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s fast approaching, brutal army, the rebel warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign unrivaled in history that changes the face of China forever.
In one camp, you have the villain, the bad guy who’s bent on conquering the Southlands, Liu Bei Army and everything in its path. From the start, the movie already emphasizes how evil he is because he’d even spare no messengers. In another camp, it’s the story about viceroy Zhou You played by the superstar Tony Leung and a Liu Bei’s wise strategists, Zhuge Liang, who sets the alliance in emotion. Their collaboration in the end can only be described as equivalent to King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table plus Merlin all in one person. What you need to keep in mind is that RED CLIFF tries to incorporate all of the tactics from the ancient warfare and combine it with some of Woo’s crazy vision to make the sequences not only bloody and impressive but strangely breathtaking, it will satisfy action fans everywhere. From catapults to collecting arrows, from marching in by using formations of protective shields to the good old hand to hand combat. At the same time, you get to see Viceroy Yu catches a flying spear with his bare right hand while riding a horse.
The fight choreography is sharp and some of the best, fastest moves you’ll ever see on screen. It’s interesting to see how it’s somewhat reminiscent to Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy (2004) where a thousands ships are raised for just one woman. Speaking of ships, the use of CG in RED CLIFF is probably not the tightest, most convincing part of the movie, of course not every filmmaker can get ILM’s help but it works well enough to give you the grand epic scope of Cao Cao’s army and his intimidating navy fleet.
So RED CLIFF is not so much about the human drama, that aspect exists and is part of the story, especially general Liu Bei whose heart and sympathy for his soldiers and the villagers kept him from being involved in further bloodshed at their expense, he’s the kind of guy who picks his battles and knows when to admit defeat. But when it comes down to it, the movie’s strength is engaging you in trying to think like a general back in the days when resources are limited and you’re completely outnumbered. When the odds are against you, the best possible way is to make friends with the elements surrounding your enemy who by the way is not afraid to resort to biological/psychological attacks if necessary. Some of the war methods presented in RED CLIFF might be obvious while others are surprising, crafty, and will leave you in awe.
It’s a mind-game, about manipulation, persuasion and careful calculation. Strategist Liang always knows how to talk his way into convincing the other person to side with him. Viceroy Yu knows that they’re not moving forward until they know, really really know and learn their enemy, which is why a mole is an important factor. Viceroy Yu and Cao Cao are like playing a big game of chess where they’re both trying to figure out each other’s next moves while taking into consideration the wind, the fog, the fire, and water that can be used to their advantage, to cause the heaviest blow on the opposing army, to cause as much destruction as possible and devastation in this otherwise gorgeous land. On top of that, a woman brings down an army, I think it’s not to be ignored because throughout history, it’s been proven that a woman knows how to bring the most powerful man to his knees and divide his people.
RED CLIFF is a truly clever movie.
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