Red Cliff
John Woo's Red Cliff is out now
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Monday, 08, Jun 2009 01:27
Directed by John Woo, out June 12th, starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Wei Zhao, running time 148 mins.
In a nutshell...
Epic, strategic, feudal, historical drama
What's it all about?
In the year 208 AD, three kingdoms in ancient China are pitted against one another in a fight to secure territory and bring glory to their people.
On one side, prime minister Cao Cao mobilises his troops in the name of his reluctant emperor, while the leaders of the other two sides - Sun Quan and Liu Bei - band together to make the most of their own lesser military forces.
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Who's in it?
From bullet-fuelled China classics like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow - to Hollywood blockbusters like Face/Off and Mission Impossible: II, director John Woo has been able to carve out a career in both the west and the east.
Here, he returns to the latter, but instead focuses on the feudal history of his country's past - armed with a battalion of prolific actors and an estimated budget of $80 million (£48 million).
As an example...
"Truth and illusion are often disguised as each other, Cao Cao likes to play this game, both with friends and foes." - Liu Bei muses on the plans of his nemesis.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Having already received a number of awards in its native territory, Red Cliff is likely to provide critics and film-lovers plenty to gush about, if only for its lavish set design, beautiful costumes and epic art direction.
Yet, with February some time off, the jury is out as to whether or not the film will linger long enough in the minds of the Academy to warrant a statuette in 2010.
What the others say
"What elevates this spectacle over that of the Wolverine and Terminator spin-offs is soul. Woo, a poet of action cinema, is every bit as attentive here to the art of tea-making as the art of war." - Mike McCahill, Telegraph
"It's all technically impressive, but with none of the characters having much personality, it rarely stirs your senses." - Edward Porter, Sunday Times
So is it any good?
First, a confession. I have never seen an Akira Kurosawa flick - and while everyone lined up to heap praise on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I looked on dumbfounded. In short, the ancient embattled East is not my bag.
That is not to say eastern cinema of no interest to me. Give me some Wong Kar-wai (Happy Together), Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) or Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) and I am a happy man. But a two-and-a-half hour Chinese war epic? Well, let's just say I had reservations.
However, I approached Red Cliff with an open mind and a true willingness to be swayed. Now, at this point you may expect a torrent of praise detailing how my preconceptions were shattered by a visually-stunning tale of war, honour and courage in the face of adversity. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint.
I have never been so bored in a cinema in my entire life as I was by Red Cliff. While all the above elements were firmly in place, I simply could not bring myself to care about anyone involved - their struggle, their successes, failures, nothing.
Lovers of the genre will undoubtedly adore the sweeping cinematography, complex battle strategies, detailed art direction and heroic posturing - but for me, war needs to be accompanied by a little purpose or humanity - and I could find none here.
Despite this, I would encourage people to see Red Cliff. Despite the clumsy John Woo symbolism, unnecessary ponderous gazing and thoroughly boring plot machinations, there is probably something here for many - but I'll be damned if I know where it is.
3/10
Noel Mellor