Red Cliff (International Version)

Red Cliff

First of all, let me be clear about one thing. John Woo is back. Having escaped Hollywood, Woo has made his first film in his native China since 1992 - a behemoth 2-part epic Red Cliff, which displays all the flare and energy we came to love back in his heyday. Red Cliff isn't just a return to form; it's an expansion on his abilities. The sheer scope of the production is staggering and more massive than anything Hollywood has done in awhile, and Woo pulls it off admirably.

There is a "but." I know a lot of foreign films only make it to the United States in an edited form. Producers slice up a movie to make it more "palatable" for American audiences and usually they butcher the film in the process. While I wouldn't wish that fate on Red Cliff, I have to admit that this is a movie that is in serious need of some big cutting.

Red Cliff is the story of one of the most epic battles in Chinese history (and one of the greatest levels in the Dynasty Warriors video game franchise). In the dying days of the Han Dynasty, the ambitious Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) tramples over all opposition with his massive army. His ruthless ambition forces an alliance between the two other major power players of the time, Liu Bei (Yong You) and Sun Quan (Chen Chang). Even combined, the new allied force has some serious disadvantages. Cao Cao has the largest army in the world, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. His men are well-trained, well-fed and well-armed. The allies, on the other hand, have a combined army of no more than 80,000 men, their leaders mistrust each other and have different priorities, and they are running short on supplies and weapons. But the allies do have a few advantages, namely the word's coolest general Zhou Yu (Tony Leong) and the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Part I of the film focuses on the alliance, the initial battles, and the various strategic moves the armies make as they prepare for the big battle. Part II deals with the final strategies and the epic battle itself.

There is a lot of ground to cover in these movies, but five hours is pushing it, especially when it would have been easy to do some slicing and dicing. It's not that the individual scenes are unnecessary; it's that they go on for too long for no reason. For example, when Zhuge Liang visits Zhou Yu to propose the alliance, he finds that Yu's favorite horse is in labor and having difficulty delivering. Zhuge Liang, who is a brilliant farmer when he isn't busy being a brilliant strategist, helps deliver the baby horse. The scene is important because Liang proves his worth to Zhou Yu and this moment is the trigger that builds trust between the two men. But the delivery scene goes on forever! And I could have lived without the slimy baby horse leg slowly coming out of the mommy horse's private parts. Is that really necessary?

There are a lot of moments like this in the film, when you will turn to you buddy and say, "Why are they spending so much time here?" or "Why are they still playing the musical instruments?" or "Why is he still sword-dancing?" or "Why are they still playing soccer?" or most importantly, "Why is this movie five hours long??"

With some trimming, Red Cliff could have really been superb. The art direction is great, the actors are all uniformly excellent, and the action is a lot of fun. The battles are like the Dynasty Warriors game come to life, and I got a thrill from watching old favorites from the game, like the legendary Guan Yu, kicking butt on the battlefield. And the climactic battle in Part II is appropriately epic, with thousands of men piling into each other, firing arrows, throwing spears, launching explosives. The carnage on display is chaotic and massive, and yet we never lose our bearings because of how carefully Woo has orchestrated the battle. It's a pretty impressive - though I will admit the battle ends a bit anti-climactically (SPOILER - the way the scene is edited, it seems like the final victory is achieved because one character is able to mess up the other character's pony tail. Probably not what they were going for, but Wha?!?).

The best parts of the movie involve the various strategies the two forces use. It's fascinating to watch the generals as they ponder ways to outwit each other. And the movie isn't just the underdogs outwitting the big bad guy, either. Cao Cao gives as good as he gets, and makes some really clever and ruthless moves. He is clearly a good general and is a genuine inspiration to his men. It's rare that movies give the bad guy a big, inspirational speech, but Woo gives Cao Cao a great one. All this just makes him a more memorable adversary.

I know there is another version of the film that has been sliced down into 148 minutes. I'd be curious to see how it is, but I doubt it is any good. That is cutting too much out of the movie. I like the character development, and I appreciate the fact that the movie delves into the motivations and psychological implications of warfare. This is heavy stuff, and I'm sure the American version takes most of it out. But there is no doubt that Red Cliff is too long, and would have been much better with about an hour sliced out. 

MVP: Fengyi Zhang as Cao Cao is my MVP. It's a tough call because Tony Leong and Takeshi Kaneshiro are also superb. But Cao Cao is a strong villain, three-dimensional, passionate, and ruthless. I don't want to give too much away about his true motivations, but it completely changes his character from the cartoonish dictator with an invincible army to a fully rounded human being. It's a great performance from Zhang.

TRIVIA: Chow Yun Fat was to play Zhou Yu, but dropped out on the first day of principle photography. This worked out for the best, I think. As much as I like Chow Yun Fat, I think Tony Leong is a better choice for that role.

BEST LINE: Cao Cao "He has brought his stupidity upon me."