In 208 BCE, in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) 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 Red Cliff (Chi bi). During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.
Special Agent Matti
Red Cliff (Chi bi) is a bit slow, even taking into account the fact that it's Chinese (Asian audiences have longer attention spans than we jaded Westerners) and despite the fact that it's essentially a John Woo action film with subtitles. The promotion of Chinese history is worthwhile because we forget that the middle kingdoms practically invented civilisation when our ancestors were still being impressed by taking off their clothes and painting each other blue. The Chinese war technology (and strategy) is wonderful to see (if you're into that sort of thing). If you like Sun Tzu, you'll love Red Cliff (Chi bi).
The action, China, war movie Red Cliff (Chi bi) is directed by John Woo and stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhao Wei.
MA 15+ (Strong battle violence)
149 minutes (2:29 hours)
Film: 23 July 2009
