So earlier this afternoon, I finally saw the John Woo directed, Chinese action-war film, “Red Cliff” (the theatrical version) on Netflix.

This film has been pretty controversial in Hollywood around the time this film came out in 2008. The film was originally a 2 part movie that was released in Asia only. Then the U.S. gets the 2 and a half hour theater version. I would like to see the original at some point, maybe the full two part movie will be out on DVD, I’ll have to look it up.

This film is taken place in AD 208, and it was about the Han Dynasty. The story tells about a man named Cao Cao, who is a power hungry General and Prime Minister who convinces the weak-willed emperor that two rebellious leaders, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan must be stopped… Cao Cao’s antagonists also include the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang and the heroic warrior Zhou Yu, whose wife, Lin Chiling, is a legendary beauty. Cao Cao has huge power and also he has many warships, and his own army as well. The Eastern Wu forces go to war against Cao Cao, to protect their land and save their people.

Well, this was a pretty interesting movie. I thought I was going to be bored to death watching this film, but the film kept me entertained all the way through. The story was pretty interesting. I don’t know much about Chinese history but after seeing this film, kind of makes me want to get into it more. I think this is John Woo’s best film. I’ve seen a lot of John Woo’s films so I know his directing style.

If you like Chinese foreign movies, you would find this one a little different than the others. The writing is actually good. It was pretty interesting watching Chinese actors pull off an interesting story. It’s a very violent movie with a lot of epic action scenes. Some pretty creative action scenes. There are martial arts fighting in the film, of course, but there is way more than that. There are a lot of fire and explosions in the battle scenes toward the end. The major battle scene at the end will leave you wanting some more. This film was kind of breathtaking.

The ending is pretty surprising too. I won’t tell what happened at the end, you’ll have to see the film for yourself. It was a pretty brutal war movie. I really enjoyed this film, very much. It’s kind of like, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” but a little different. If you have Netflix, you should seriously check this one out.

Kev