Red Cliff aka Chi Bi Part 1 Movie Review
Directed By John Woo
Starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and a whole slew of great Chinese actors.
Ive been anxious to see this movie for awhile now. I know there is a whole backlash against Woo especially since his last few movies Paycheck and Windtalkers (Which I love) were disappoints to most. I know deep down that the director of classics such as Face-Off, Hard Boiled and The Killer still resides somewhere within him. Little did I know until I watched the movie that this is only the first part of a two part epic. So yes at the end of this movie there is a ...To Be Continued attached to it. The first part has been released in China and it is currently the all time Box Office King, and the second part is coming out there in January. The rumor is that after both parts are released which should be between 4.5-5 hours total will be edited down to 1 movie for an American release later next year.

So is it a good movie? Mostly yes. I'll admit it did take me quite awhile to use to the fact that the movie is based on historical facts but the fighting is part realistic and part in the wirefu fantasy realm. There were a few scenes that were a little cheesy/weird and I think will cause some unintentional laughter. Once I got into the groove of the movie then I was fully digging it.
The plot is a little complex and there are a lot of different characters in the movie. I normally like to do my own synopsis but in this case Ill copy and paste one. Heres the gist of it at least. In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever. The movie primarily focuses on the Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung's characters as the unite together to battle the evil army of Cao Cao. Half of the movie is battle scenes with some cool battle formations that reminded me of 300 on crack. There is a good amount of blood spray, dismemberments,etc.. that we've seen several dozen times before, but the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most were the quiet moments between the leads in conversation, or in one awesome scene, where the two main leads play instruments together in song.

Thousands of soldiers forming a formation to trap enemies inside

There are some signature Woo moments such as slo mo but it is kept to a minimum and overall it felt like a refreshing new start for the director. Having a Chinese production is probably what he needed to clear his head from the Hollywood machine and to reenergize him. Everything didnt go smooth for him cuz one actor died in an accident and several others were injured, and one of the outdoor sets were destroyed by bad weather. The movie cost $80 million to make and it looked every penny of it. There are some great sets and the cgi flowed flawlessly together. I cant wait to see the conclusion of this epic. Highly recommended for Woo and epic war movie fans. On a scale of 1-10 I give this a "around the tree and through the mud" 8.3 out of 10.

You think there would be a Woo movie without the dove?

Fairly Spoiler Free Trailer