Red Cliff II

(continued from Part I) The listless pace means character identifiers get a little cloying through overexposure; Kaneshiro's smug weatherman is a little too flawless, all the romance is about as lifelike as the closing double rainbow, and Zhao's princess goes from compellingly viperous to goofy once she crosses the river. But through the excess we somehow arrive at a mythical tone and, more importantly, some of the most beautiful, glittering sprays of hyperchromatic blood ever committed to film.

John Woo as a director for this movie was not an advantage and unfortunately a handicap. Both movies suffered from bad editing to a point where some cuts were just confusing. Watching the same scene in slow motion several times was annoying. Story-wise it was interesting with good characters but John Woo was not the right man to direct this epic which was unexpected because of the action nature of the genre and the hard boiled approach from John Woo seemed like a good mix.

Better battle sequences, but you absolutely HAVE to see the first film to understand/care about this one; it's really one film in two parts, not a first and a sequel. It is still really good, and is truly AWE inspiring in scope. The true meaning of E.P.I.C., for better or for worse.

Reviewing both parts as one movie. High production values pay off as this war epic looks fantastic. Choreographed fight/battle scenes were well done and not totally unbelievable like they are in a lot of other Asian films. Never dull and always entertaining. John Woo has made a return to form. Tortoise formation kicks ass.

I rate both parts as one, because it's really just one movie cut in two. This is one of the best war movies ever. The beginning is not exactly gripping and I felt disappointed, but this feeling didn't last long as the movie picked up and offered a brilliant experience. Extremely high production values and sooooo beautiful soundtrack make this one shine. And if you're a fan of the Three Kingdoms era, this is a must.

I haven't seen the edited Western version but both of the original movies are fantastic. The set design is spot on, the characters look great and an epic plot is conveyed within a short period of time. Some of the CGI is poor but it's still remarkable to watch. Zhuge Liang is cunning, Cao Cao is a great villain, and the Wu characters are certainly interesting. The battles speak for themselves. If I hadn't known much about Romance Of The Three Kingdoms then I'm not sure if I'd enjoy it as much.

Lots of goodwill from Part 1 *squandered* by some truly awful scene transition animations.

Epic, in a way that movies just ought to be sometimes.

Despite having to suffer through poor subtitles, and trying to understand some of the strange social customs and humor, I have to admit that I really liked this movie. It was a epic undertaking, produced on a grand scale. The story is about intelligence over military might, and it cleverly drives the point home as you watch the smaller army outwit a much larger force controlled by a domineering, ruthless, frequently rash ruler. Based on historical events.

- 3/1/12

79.000

who knew john woo had THIS level of epic in him??

One of Liu Bai's generals can waste entire divisions of the enemy army but one of Cao Cao's generals has trouble subduing a 90 pound woman. It's mostly fun though despite some big missteps (the Zhao Wei/random soldier relationship being a big one).

Reviewing both parts as one film. Very high production value and really nice emphasis on tactics. The plot is predictable by the tactics on the battlefield are not. Weak, hammy dialog and some overlong scenes drag the run time to a total way longer than it should have been, but the battles are so well done that it doesn't really matter that much. Far better than most Asian war movies, very glad they didn't give anyone the unexplained ability to fly.

81.000

Zelo zabaven, domiselen film. Škoda za tipične kitajske nadrealistične fight sekvence. Tudi zelo dobri dialogi.

Less bombastic in the second half, the showdown at the cliffs kind of loses its momentum, and isn't nearly as interesting as say, watching a dude birth a horse. Oh, and watching Chinese kickball is p entertaining.

As a huge fan of the Dynasty Warriors game, I absolutely loved this. It totally validates the experience of those games, and as a result John Woo has unknowingly made the best video game movie ever. The cinematography, art direction, and action sequences are all fantastic. Even at 5 hours, it moved along quickly and was exciting all throughout. It's a great movie.