The enjoyment of this film really relies on watching 'Part One' first as it introduces all the characters and explains the set up so my comments here assume the reader has seen part one.This follows on immediately from Part One with the rival forces on opposite banks of the Yangtze. Prime Minister Cao Cao has the superior forces and it looks as though things are getting even worse for the 'Rebels'. After a typhoid outbreak in his camp Cao Cao he puts infected bodies on rafts and lets then drift to the rebel camp where the infection spreads and causes Liu Bei to take his much needed troops away. It isn't all bad for the rebels, Sun Shangxiang has disguised herself as one of Cao Coa's soldiers and infiltrated his camp. Here she sends messages back while also drawing a map of all his fortifications and military formations; she also befriends an enemy soldier. The rebels have small victories when Zhou Yu uses subterfuge to make Cao Cao think his two top admirals are traitors and Zhuge Liang uses a particularly devious method to gain 100,000 arrows off their enemy. Sun returns to the rebels with her map and everything is set for the epic battle all they need is for the weather conditions to change to their advantage.If you enjoyed the first half of the story watching this film is a no-brainer… especially if you bought the DVD which includes both parts! I'd advise not watching too much time between watching each part as very little time is wasted on getting the viewer up to speed on what happened before. The first half of the film effectively sets things up as the two side try to ensure their victory. Each has its ups and down as there are setbacks and minor victories. There is also some humour; much provided by Sun as she poses as an enemy soldier and nobody even suspects that this attractive woman is not a man! When the battle scenes start they are spectacular and barely let up till the end of the film. The action is impressively varied with explosions as fire sweeps through the fleet and more traditional fighting scenes. These scenes are tense and it is by no means certain who will survive. The cast does a great job bringing the characters to life with the help of John Woo's direction. Overall this was a gripping conclusion to the story.These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitle… be warned the subtitles are rather small if you are watching on a relatively small TV unless you are close to the screen!

John Woo's Red Cliff II expands on the first film, starting right from where the latter ended. This is not surprising as Woo shot both films as a whole, chopping it into two halves because of its insanely long runtime of five hours and for monetary reasons. Interestingly, there is another version of Red Cliff: the condensed one that America got which I feel might be more effective. The first installment was bravura filmmaking; it boasted solid direction by Woo, exhibited excellent story and character developments, and was one of my top ten films of the first half of 2008.Red Cliff II, on the other hand, falls short of its predecessor, and falls short of my expectations of an ambitious Chinese production, and especially one by John Woo. While most of the characters have been succinctly developed in the earlier picture, I feel that there is still room for scenes of emotional weight that can exploit the close brotherhood amongst the leading men. That being said, there is not enough screen time for the supporting cast who were colorful and vibrant in the first film. Thus, when the battle for Red Cliff finally begins after nearly ninety minutes, the camaraderie and chemistry amongst the characters more than dissipate into the hell of warfare.Those itching for battle action in Red Cliff II will find their patience tested. While some may feel that the building up of the story serves as good fodder for a spectacular climatic battle, I beg to differ. Even though there are flaws, the drama scenes in the first hour are decent enough to sustain interest. Yet I find it hard to describe the battle sequences in the same way. While they are technically impressive, they lack grandeur and real excitement.The famous naval battle in which Cao Cao's fleet of warships get burnt one by one, as the fiery flames are spread by gusts of wind, is recreated with some aid from CGI technology. Unfortunately, Woo's direction seems like a mess. There are too many close-up shots of soldiers engulfed in flames, and then there are explosions which are too frequent for my liking. There are insufficient scenes depicting the scale of the attack which would have been aptly captured with several 'bird's eye view' takes. The abrupt ending unfortunately leaves little hope for a satisfying conclusion to John Woo's epic. On a brighter note, Red Cliff II alone is actually an averagely decent motion picture, despite being inferior to the first movie.SCORE: 7/10 (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved!

I saw the original two-part five-hour Chinese release version of RED CLIFF on DVD earlier this year. I was eager to see the shortened two-and-a-half-hour North American theatrical release version for two reasons: 1) to see it on the big screen and 2) because I thought that shorter would be better. The five-hour original was simply way too long; there was plenty of material that could have been removed without sacrificing anything.Magnet Pictures released this film quietly in only two theaters in Manhattan and no theaters in my home borough. By the time I could devote an evening to see it, some three weeks after it opened, it was down to playing at one out-of-the-way theater on the Lower East Side and only at times that were impossible for working people, so I had to make a trip into Manhattan on the weekend for a morning show on Sunday, December 13, 2009. The good news is that I was quite pleased with the final result. I thought it played beautifully at two-and-a-half-hours and found it far more gripping, suspenseful and exciting than the longer version. There are plenty of moments that would have elicited applause, laughter and cheers had this played to a full multiplex crowd on a Friday night at a centrally located theater, say, in Times Square. Unfortunately, it did not have that opportunity. And because it's so inconvenient for most people to see, I can't go around recommending this to the people I think would enjoy it.I wish that John Woo and his producers had made more of an effort to find a suitable North American distributor for RED CLIFF, the most expensive film yet made in China. From what I've heard, Woo asserted that he made this film for his Chinese audience, to which I respond, what about your American fans? We championed your Hong Kong films for years and ensured a growing reputation here that enabled you to come over in 1993 and begin directing films in Hollywood—the start of a ten-year stretch that made you a wealthy man and a respected auteur the world over. You belong to the world, now, Mr. Woo. Aren't the rest of us entitled to see one of your best films in a proper theatrical setting? After all, five years ago Zhang Yimou's Chinese epic, HERO, was released by Miramax to multiplex theaters across the U.S. and even hit #1 at the box office for its opening weekend. I saw HERO on opening night in a sold-out house at a 42nd Street multiplex in Manhattan with a very respectful audience that seemed to appreciate its stylized tone, fanciful fight scenes, and all-star cast. While not as star-heavy, RED CLIFF is much more of a genuine crowd-pleaser, with a more engaging plot and far more action, and would certainly have sent exhilarated fans out to eagerly spread the word among their friends. Woo's American fanbase deserved the opportunity to do that. RED CLIFF offers narrative film-making in a classical style that used to be quite common in Hollywood. Among today's American filmmakers, only Quentin Tarantino comes close and only in select films like this year's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. RED CLIFF reminds me of the epics that filled me with awe in neighborhood theaters as a child, most notably Anthony Mann's two spectacles, EL CID (1961) and FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964). The failure of RED CLIFF to reach its audience in the U.S. is emblematic of everything that's wrong with movie distribution in this country today.I've placed this review in the IMDb entry for RED CLIFF Part II, because that's the part that comprises the bulk of the North American release version.

First of all, the cinematic in both Chi Bi I and II are amazing. Colors and sceneries are stunning. Battle scenes from the ships burning to blood spilling off of the cold steel of Zhao Yun's lance are unprecedented in Chinese films. Also, the computer graphics in the movie is a big step up from Chen Kaige's Wu Ji (The Promise 2005).Other than the visual component of the movie, everything else is unfortunately a failure. I have been been anticipating the movies since late 2007. There had been a trend of Chinese movies trying to mimic Hollywood and impress westerners. I was hoping that Chi Bi would turn out to be an eastern epic of its own since it is based on one of the greatest battles within 4500 years of Chinese history. Yet after being very unsatisfied with the first movie, Chi Bi II: Jue Zhan Tian Xia was even more disappointing. Here are 4 reasons why it was a failure:1)Characters: Other than Zhuge and Zhou Yu who were depicted in details, most other characters were very one-dimensional. For example, Cao Cao was portrayed as an arrogant, ambitious, and brutal man who makes his own decisions. In the movie, he became the all powerful villain that everyone feared. However, Cao Cao in the story was supposed to be very intelligent, benevolent at times and Charismatic, with many brilliant advisors he often took suggestions from. Not only did Cao Cao give me the impression of Xerxes in 300, it erased other sides of his personalities which made him interesting. Furthermore, John Woo failed to portray Liu Bei as a powerful man who would rise to be the ruler of one of the three kingdoms. In Chi Bi II, he delivered the impression of man who feared death who even had trouble inspiring his own men.2)Hasty Modification of the Plot: In order to fit most of the key events leading up to the battle within a series of two films, many events were simplified or re-written. For example, Pang Tong - one of the most intelligent characters in the original book was cut out from movie. Instead of his phony surrender to Cao Cao and proposing the method of linking the ships together, it was simplified to a short dialog between Admiral Cai informing Cao Cao of his decision to link the ships. Also, Zhou Yu punishing his general Huang Gai with one hundred back lashes to deceive Cao Cao for the reason of Huang Gai's surrender was modified into Xiao Qiao's (Zhou Yu's Wife) decision of seducing Cao Cao to stall time. Furthermore, themes with Zhuge "borrowing the wind", Cao Cao's escape in Hua Rong Dao were reduced to a prolonged battle scene. With so many events holding great significance which contributes to the ultimate miracle at Chi Bi cut out, the plot of the movie became very predictable, unimpressive, and even confusing.3)Very One Sided, Zhou Yu in Super Hero Mode: Zhou Yu was supposed to be the mastermind commander behind Sun Quan's army, but with average ability to combat. Yet, in the movie, Zhou Yu was chopping away in tens and thousands of soldiers like Achilles to save his wife. In fact, it was more like a gang of super heroes (Liu, Guan, Zhang, Zhao, Sun)unstoppable against Cao Cao's army. Ironically, none of them actually fought at Chi Bi, it was fought by their generals who were never mentioned. In the original story, Cao Cao also brought with him his best generals (Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Zhang He...etc) who were intelligent and were extremely skilled warriors. Neither were they mentioned. It made the battle seem less dramatic because Cao Cao's men were almost like obsoletes. Cao Cao's generals were portrayed as clueless cowards who hid behind the fences.4) Misleading Scenes and Redundancy: John Woo put his main focus on the characters of Zhou and Zhuge portraying their friendship and intelligence, which totally missed the point of the intricacy of their alliance. Zhou was constantly jealous of Zhuge's intelligence, and was trying to find every reason to kill him. In fear that Zhou Yu would prevent Liu Bei from becoming a power, Zhuge was also working to protect his master Liu. John Woo's attempt to expand on Zhuge's character with the scene of him delivering a baby horse in the first movie was totally unnecessary, in fact it was absurd. As if there is no one else who knew how to deliver baby horses within the entire army.Chi Bi Zhi Zhan (Battle of Chi Bi) was between Cao Cao's army of close to one million against 50,000 combined forces of Liu and Sun. The victory was supposed to be a miracle. It was the combination of strategies, weather, geography, from intricate planning. Yet John Woo made it a two men show of Zhuge and Zhou. The over simplification was ultimately resulted in disappointment. It leaves the wrong impression on those who does not know about the story. Overall, Chi Bi had good material to work with, but ended in failure.