Red Cliff Part 1

Movie Poster of Red Cliff

Went to watch Red Cliff (赤壁) last night with Ivan. This movie is awesome. I mean, it has to being the highest budget Asian movie to date. Before this I never knew much about the Three Kingdoms or Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I did play a computer game about it many many many many years ago. Who would remember the names of the Warlords and Officers right? That time it was all about leading vast military attacks and planning political strategies to ensure that my kingdom was in tip-top condition.

Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Guan Yu as they appear in Koei's Dynasty Warriors

Many years later, KC introduced the game Dynasty Warriors 3 to me on the PS2. I fell in love with the game as it reminded me of the previous games I played on the PC. Familiar names like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhou Yu, and Zhuge Liang were re-lived in that action hack 'n' slash game.

Movie Poster of Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

A movie I watched before this was Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon which starred Andy Lau as Zhao ZiLong, or better known as Zhao Yun. I know it wasn't historically accurate but I found the movie so cool. Generals in armor, hadberds in hand, horses galloping to war, it was breathtaking. Ok enough about this movie, back to the post title lol.

Zhao ZiLong at the Battle of Changban

This show focused on the pre-Battle of Red Cliff, the actual Battle of Red Cliff, and post-Battle. How are they gonna fit all these in a 2hr movie? Easy, they had to split it into 2 parts. I won't blog much about the story as you have to watch it for yourself. All I can say is that this movie is uber cool. There were even scenes of the generals/officers doing musou during the battle lol. The actors/actressed played their roles well and Zhao Wei as Sun Shang Xiang added some comedy into the serious plot. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung both were fantastic as Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu respectively. Oh incase you're wondering, both of them are really important figures for both the Shu and Wu Kingdoms.

Zhou Yu, Zhao ZiLong, Zhuge Liang

Erm I'd recommend this movie for those of you who are really interested in the history of the Three Kingdoms as the famous Battle of Red Cliff is brought to life and also to those of you who are just craving for some random action-packed hack 'n' slash movie. Personally, I feel that this movie is too much to Dynasty Warriors-like. Its just my own two cents but hey, at the end it's all up to you to rate it XD

A battle scene involving a naval ship belonging to Cao Cao

I'd give this movie a 4.5/5. The last 0.5 would be because I felt they should have introduced the characters in-film. Like when Liu Bei appears for the 1s time, they should put a label/legend/side quote or whatever you call it saying: "Liu Bei, Warlord of the Shu Empire" or something like that. It'll be good for those who don't know who's who in the Three Kingdoms.

Lu Su and Zhuge Liang

Part 2 fast come pls