Red Cliff II

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Alec B Remarkably effective payoff. I know this one is more action oriented but that's really where Woo shines and some of these sequences (The arrow collection, the whole final siege) are absolutely breathtaking. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Jimmy P Watch this and part one together for an awesome experience. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Remarkably effective payoff. I know this one is more action oriented but that's really where Woo shines and some of these sequences (The arrow collection, the whole final siege) are absolutely breathtaking. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review matthew d A striking account of ancient China's massive Battle at Red Cliffs. John Woo's Chinese historical war epic Red Cliff Part II (2009) is a fascinating picture that gets at the spirit of leaders behind both warring sides during The Han Dynasty. Woo's directorial scope is only matched by his stunning imagination for visual flair. After the phenomenal setup and initial encounters from Part I, Red Cliff Part II shows the entire Battle at Red Cliffs from flaming ships ramming 100's of Cao Cao's vessels to legions of Liu Bei's infantry charging Cao Cao's encampment. The dozens of horses sprinting to the endless extras make all the combat and clashes feel real. Woo's writing brings The Han Dynasty to life with deeply rich cultural philosophy and intelligent military strategy. It's interesting to hear the motivations of ambition, power, unity, loyalty, respect, honor, and even love. Yue Lu's cinematography captures wide shots of all the boats and armies engaging in lethal blows. I love how he goes from ultra close-ups on weapons to the wider shots that show all the strikes and slashes of war heroes against their foes. It's nice how John Woo gets all the war drama and character moments done in the first half because the second half of Red Cliff Part II is all action. Each encounter ups the ante and looks like the war scenes from Hero, Kingdom of Heaven, or Lord of the Rings. Tony Leung is excellent as the dramatic heart of Red Cliff Part II as Zhou Yu. His emotional scenes with his wife Xiao Qiao, played by the lovely Lin Chi-ling, are captivating. Lin Chi-ling plays Xiao Qiao with hope in her heart and an acute understanding of the stakes of the battle succeeding. I loved Takeshi Kaneshiro as brilliant tactician Zhuge Liang with his genius strategy to obtain 100,000 arrows with scarecrows or noting the change of winds in this warfare. He's the mental heart of Red Cliff Part II, who delivers philosophy as well as tactical advice. Zhang Feng-yi is out of his mind as Cao Cao. He plays a tyrant warlord well. Chang Chen is interesting as Sun Quan trying to earn his war merits with his bow. Zhao Wei is hilarious and endearing as Sun Shang-xiang. She's the emotional core of the film as a war drama as she finds out the cost of war the hard way. Hu Jun stabs plenty of Cao Cao's soldiers with his trusty lance as General Zhao Yun much like Ba Sen Zha Ba as the mighty General Guan Yu with his massive spear. Shido Nakamura is cool as the charging former pirate General Gan Xing. His sacrifice to open Cao Cao's gate despite getting shot with arrows is moving. You Yong is contemplative and subtle as Lord Liu Bei. Zhan Jinzheng is still a riot as the boarish General Zhang Fei. The scene of him charging while getting shot with arrows is powerful. In short, Red Cliff Part II is a worthy sequel to John Woo's classic war film Red Cliff! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I initially saw a great deal of this film when I first watched the US theatrical cut of Red Cliff, so if you’d like my full rundown on the overall brilliance of Red Cliff, check my first review of Red Cliff Part 1 on Letterboxd. This review will focus specifically on the 2nd chapter and how it differed from the same content in the US cut of the movie. Although, it’s worth mentioning that most of Red Cliff II is included in that theatrical cut. As a result, watching this part was still wonderful, but felt quite familiar. There were still some character things that I felt were fleshed out better in the International Cut, though. I loved seeing more of the inner discussions of the Generals and exploring how they emotionally felt about the war. There is also a greater amount of setup that leads to the payoff in the climax of the film. In other words, this was a superb movie that I adored in its abbreviated version, which was made even better in the full-length cut of the film. I love the interplay between Tony Chiu-Wai Leung’s character and the one played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. They are the wisest people on the battlefield and it shows. I loved watching them outwit the enemy forces, and continuously showing their worth in the complex battle strategy. I think what impressed me most when I watched the full 2-part saga was the amount of emotion that runs through the entire story. This kind of big sweeping war epic can easily become impersonal as random nameless soldiers are picked off one by one. But we get to see significant characters killed and the entire film ends on a down note as there are no real winners in a war with this many casualties. There’s simply no denying that Red Cliff is John Woo’s masterpiece and I adore the full film. If forced to think of the 2 parts as separate films, I’ll probably always prefer Red Cliff II because it gives the resolution of all that came before, but in my heart it’s just one long (nearly 5-hour) film. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/20 Full Review Audience Member Très bon... et qu'ils sont beaux. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Red Cliff II

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