Paul Greenwood's Review
Condensed from a two-part, five-hour overseas version and set in third century China, Red Cliff starts off like it’s going to be the same old stuffy and impenetrable story of emperors and people who want to be emperors told in every other Asian period drama of the last ten years.
But after an initial flurry of confusion with a surfeit of characters and no real idea of who is doing what to whom and why, it settles into a stirring tale of warlords who band together to protect the Southlands from a usurper.
They must work together to fend off an 800,000-strong army through their alliance and tactical skills, as they gather at Red Cliff to make their stand.
After his disastrous spell in Hollywood, director John Woo is back to what he does best, and he brings incredible energy and verve to the action. With its massive computer-generated armadas and armies, the extended battle scenes are coherent, spectacularly bloody and packed with exhilarating manoeuvres.
It’s also more than just an action movie, quick to recognise the cost of war and though a little ripe in places, the hefty running time is rarely felt. Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian film ever made, and you can see it in every magnificent frame.