Another acrobatic ballet of blood from John Woo, Red Cliff is set in 209 AD as marauding warlords fight a constant war of attrition in ancient China.
What emerges from this sprawling epic – part Zulu, part Spartacus, part Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – is a fascinating exploration of military tactics and strategy as a plucky band of heroes battle on against overwhelming odds.
Even so, through
out Red Cliff resembles a truncated tale, as if much of the back story has been sacrificed to buoy up a grandiose blockbuster that requires frequent scenes of battleground action to propel it forward.
Nevertheless, this is a thrilling vision of a long-ago, far-off war with a powerful ensemble of East Asian stars – Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhang Fengyi – providing solid performances throughout.
Yet Woo cannot resist pepping up the quietness of his intellectual scenes – and this is an intelligent rendering of history – with magnificent panoramas of war.
He is fond of aerial shots depicting vast armies (and navies) on the move. The cinematography (by Lu Yue and Zhang Li) is the film's star along with the intricate fight choreography.
Woo proves again that he is a master of action, but that his skill is not limited to the energised shoot-'em-ups that paved his way to Hollywood in the early '90s.
