CREATIVE QUOTIENT
Red Cliff is a cinematic interpretation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the legendary novel by Guanzhong Luo. Red Cliff stars a pan-Asian cast led by Takeshi Kaneshiro (House Of Flying Daggers), here playing the brilliant war strategist Zhuge Liang. Set during the Han Dynasty (circa 200 AD). Initially a two part series Red Cliff is now condensed to a two-and-a-half single rendition of an epic war saga.

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han, the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the West and East Wu in the South. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.

The oddest bit of this near perfect Chinese war saga is the awkward dubbing into English!!!

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Red Cliff features three major battle scenes - exquisite set pieces — the one that opens the film, a mid-movie engagement and a final, extended battle that literally begins at night and ends the next day. The last two battles are astounding with intricate choreographed strategy. John Woo has ensured that the audience is not left guessing who is who, so explanatory titles introduce the characters and their place.

Chinese history buffs will no doubt sift out the truth from the creative license, but everyone else will just appreciate John Woo’s grand sense of narration. He couldn’t have picked a better way to mark his return to Chinese cinema and redeem himself for a few mediocre lapses. Red Cliff allows Hong Kong’s grandmaster to re-invent himself as a director, with this $80 million opus.

Although Red Cliff is very much about the men and wars, the women do have plenty of screen time. Taiwanese model Chiling Lin makes her debut as Xiao Qiao, Zhou Yu’s beautiful wife, who, once upon a time, caught the eye of a certain power hungry Prime Minister. She uses her past with to stall the Prime Minister’s attack on Red Cliff. Maybe a ridiculous bit of cinema, especially in this kind of movie, but just take it at face value. Vicki Zhao who plays Sun Shang Xiang, the little sister to Sun Quan, insists on joining the war effort with the warrior maidens. Zhao brings her trademark mischievous personality and much-needed mirth to a movie that is all about the boys and their power play with oodles of blood that flows as a result.