Chi Bi I Hardly Knew Yee.

Well, after a few years following this film about a battle in history that was by and large eventful to say the least, and knowing of a 4 hour 2-parter freely available region free HD from China, John Woo's triumphant return to Chinese cinema comes in the form of Chi bi, Red Cliff.

As a fan of the Dynasty Warriors series of games I read more and more about the battle, the key components, the events that led up to it, it's major participants, and always found it fascinating, and finally a feature length form of the drama that heeded the battle and what happened to sway large numbers into disarray. I know, Dynasty Warriors, hardly accurate, and you're right, but it introduced me to these events more than anything else.

Basic plot line, three kingdoms in China, all under the banner of the Han Dynasty, however the Emperor is being puppeted by the prime minister Cao Cao, who is a heavy warmonger, think the general in any film where the army comes in to sort it all out. Liu Bei leads a small amount of men, trying to protect the innocent from the hard hands of Cao Cao's men, and after being rushed out of towns around the country, they form an alliance with the Sun clan, and it's leader Sun Quan. Cao Cao prepares his armies on land and sea, not very normal with the boats, the army's moral is lowered from seasickness and a typhoid epidemic. Focussing on the Red Cliff to take the Southlands of China, the two armies build up and begin to make stratergies. Cao Cao claiming to have 800,000 men, the allies with only 40,000, outnumbered and outgunned, they fight to win for the good guys.

Basic outline of the plot before the film kicks in.
So the film introduces us to the world with an American voice over, completely out of place when text would have sufficed, then begins to lead us in with characters appearing with titles of their names, ranks and jobs. For the most part you're checking out the striking visuals, the wonderful cinematography, the amazing editing, subtly intense at times,t he amazing action sequences, to really notice the characters, heck, one scene has two people discussing the battle overlooking the kingdom without a single close-up, all from far away.

And maybe that's why the film isn't as perfect as we'd have hoped, yes it's an amazing, viceral film, but the characters leave a lot to be desired, you like the good guys for sure, but you never really care about them, mortal danger or not, we don't get attached, there's no time, maybe in the extra 1 hour 30 from parts 1 and 2 we'd have got more out of them, but apart from that this film is fine and dandy.

Amazingly epic in numbers and action, a sequence involving an ambush in tortoise formations is simply magnificent and the whole big battle is truly remarkable, some of the best stuff I've witnessed put to film, and whilst the CGI is a little too plasticky for the wooden ships and fleshy people they're supposed to look like, for the most part it's forgivable with the style, the feel and the pacing of the film, yes it's 2 hours 30, but it plays like 1 hour 45. There's little to fault, the mix of epic battles, martial arts fighting and simple dialogue that's subtle enough but not too cliched as well, it's nice to sit down and not be spoon fed another wushu gravity defining but plot missing drama, this has so much more, the simple attributes of seeing from both sides, obviously the film is pro-one side, but there's enough time devoted to both to make the battles and the small moments before the battle engaging, and surprisingly enough some moments funny, very funny.

Whilst I've not seen many John Woo films, this is the best of the small amount I've seen, it's fast, brutal and interesting without tipping over into melodrama or all out action, the human focus though lacking, near the end with all the bodies strewn makes it forgivable.

A near masterpiece you'd be stupid to miss.
9/10