Review: Red Cliff

Tony Leung looking for something more to blow up in Red Cliff.

Note: This is a review of the American release.

Beginning with a mind-numbingly dumb voiceover and frequent subtitle-aids, Red Cliff seems doomed from the start by its embarrassingly-outdated Americanization. Throw in director John Woo's inability to handle drama (evidenced as early as A Better Tomorrow II and Hard Boiled), and you've got yourself one helluva shaky start. I almost walked out, actually, planning on holding for the original, two-part epic. But, fortunately, I remembered the golden rule of any given Woo film: you've got to wait, and then you've got wait some more. As they say, 'good things come'... and in the case of Red Cliff, great things come, very great things.

The story, so mashed and rushed out the door, is nonetheless compelling, especially once you escape the muddy opening. The setup is more or less this: in 208 AD, a war-mongering Prime Minister (and his puppet Emperor) in the North looks to further his power, taking the fight to two clans in the South—one a perennial loser, the other never having fought a battle. Naturally, they come to be allies, and from there, we're off into an adventurous, larger-than-life world of spectacular battle sequences and genuinely memorable characters. Woo veteran Tony Leung proves he's still got that leading-man swagger, carrying the film brilliantly as Viceroy Zhou Yu, while newcomer (at least to my American eyes) Takeshi Kaneshiro has a great role as the wily military strategist, Zhuge Liang. The baddie, Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) is kinda lame, but stays classy and doesn't detract from the picture. Also worthy of note is the supporting role of Wei Zhao, in a Miranda Otto-LOTR kind of role that is just strappingly badass.

The John Wooziness (quick fades/dissolves, choppy slow mo, doves) is on full display here, making his valiant return to China a greatest hits of sorts but which nonetheless goes for broke. The action is simply amazing, full of the raw, unhinged energy that made his Hard Boiled-Hard Target peak so invigorating. The contrived battle tactics seem cheesy at first, but after seeing the "turtle formation," you will be hooked, and waiting for what's to come next. This is where Cliff breaks away from Lord of the Rings material and goes above and beyond, really finding its niche in the legacy of the cinematic battlefield. The finale takes on the classical 'Ewoks vs. Empire' mold, but unlike 300, Woo actually makes it believable, cumulating in a solid 45 minutes of EXPLOSIONS AND DEATH with so much aflame that yelling "Fire!" in the theater would not be unwarranted!

Someone should shoot me for saying this, but there's something to be said but cutting out the fluff. Just as the allied forces pack themselves into a turtle, the action packs itself into the condensed material, capitalizing on an iconic director's strengths and ultimately putting on a really good show. I still plan on seeing the full version, hoping for a Ran-like scope, but for now, this pure-concentrated-epic version will have to do. Pure-concentrated-awesome.


*** out of ****

~ Patrick Fryberger