John Woo's "Red Cliff" is a big budget war "epic" based on recorded events from China's history. Having watched it twice, I'd say Woo took his historical accuracy with a grain of salt. Some half interesting drama is sandwiched between endless battle scenes that employ lots of CGI and assorted fakery; the result is period drama distorted and distracted by modern technology. Personally, I'm now bored to tears by large scale battle scenes. They become a big, vapid goo of confused movement and inverted geography. You get a headache squinting to see what characters you're supposed to be watching and figuring out who's whipping who's ass. The best war films ("Paths of Glory", "A Home Too Far", "Taegukgi", "Platoon", "Red Angel", "Bullet in the Head") have great personal dramas at their centers; unfortunately, this hundred million plus cinematic behemoth keeps its drama superficial and slightly silly. As a result, it never reaches or comes close to greatness. I'm sure Woo nearly killed himself making the movie and I'm sure the money was well spent, but, ultimately, I didn't care. The desire to do stuff bigger and louder than before seems foolish folly to me. Why isn't there the same desire to tell a great, engaging story that is more emotional than anything seen before?
Review of Red Cliff
Red Cliff
(2008)
Superficial drama sandwiched between endless battle scenes
15 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers