Red Cliff

The ultimate action-auteur, John Woo revolutionized the way audiences experienced the excitement of gun fights, fist exchanges, and chases with such classics as the untouchable Hard Boiled and The Killer in the 1980s and early 90s. Woo's ability to take one of the more palatable genres--not to mention the least critically acclaimed--and turn out films using such an accessible form to tell compelling, and at times poetic, stories with such a concise cinematic hand has lent him a place in the pantheon of film's great directors. Sadly for us cinephiles, the later part of the last decade found Woo moving to the U.S. to helm such pictures as Face/Off and Broken Arrow--not the most exciting fare for a filmmaker of such stature.

Thankfully 2009 has been graced with a return to form, of sorts, for Woo with his soon to be released Red Cliff.

Now, mind you, Mr. Woo hasn't given us a jaw-dropping barrage of choreographed crime ultra-violence. Rather, he has graced the silver screen with nothing less than a heavily costumed, immensely produced, and expertly told (do not miss action heavy)...historical drama. Epic in proportion, and production size (I think this may have been the longest end credit roll I've ever seen) Red Cliff tells the story of how an underdog group of rebel armies banded together to defeat the fierce and overpowering armed forces that were being unjustly led by a member of the Emperor's government. The story of the Battle of Red Cliff is deeply ingrained in the nationalist mythology of mainland China, as the tale has been woven into countless pieces of literature, theatre, and has even surfaced several popular video game titles.

Although I couldn't see myself wanting to watch this particular film for four plus hours (as was released in China), I definitely felt like it could have been longer than the 146 min American version that will be hitting U.S. theatres mid-month (I've been told a longer version will probably grace us here on DVD). The shortening of the film, essentially by half, can be felt at times, though the narrative through-line is never lost and the emotional touches of the film aren't hampered, though the dramatic tension of the film certainly might have felt a bit less rushed had more screen time been awarded to the domestic version of the picture.

The first thirty minutes or so of the film felt clunky and awkwardly pieced together, which doesn't aid the seemingly misplaced and unnecessary voice-over that is clearly being used to help guide its Western audience into the story. Said voice over is blatantly on the nose, makes the audience introduction feel somewhat trailer-like, and rides the line of farce. Ouch. That said, once the film gets going, it holds it own and at times mesmerizes its audience with a mix of nuanced performance, brilliantly designed set pieces, and some of the most exciting action sequences I've seen in years. While not the most brilliant piece of historical cinema I've come across, Red Cliff is a thoroughly entertaining, at times surprising, and most assuredly, one of the more enjoyable films I've gotten the chance to see this year.

Red Cliff opens in NYC on November 18 and in Los Angeles on November 25th.

Act: While a beacon of cultural history, China has a pretty abominable human rights record. Visit Human Rights Watch's dedicated website tracking human rights abuse in that country.