The epic scale of human butchery in this movie might shock, if not balanced with equally epic and magnificent cinematography.
I am not really sure what else to say about this movie.
The death of Pit in the arms of Sun Shangxiang seemed at first glance like a muted, out-of-place anti-war note. More likely: the movie intended to show it as a counterpoint to Lady Sun's eagerness for battle. Earlier in the movie, Zhou Yu says, "After my first war, I never desired another."
The opening scenes disorient and advance much too quickly. Was that guy just beheaded the same as the guy just speaking up in front of the Emperor? Yes. Was that 30-second segue all we get from Cao Cao's appointment to the time he gets to Jing province? Yes. Who are these guys fighting against Cao Cao? Who is the baby and who are the two women being rescued, and why should we care? The baby is rescued and never seen again; one woman is killed, the other throws herself into a well to avoid capture. If Liu Bei cares, he never really shows it for the rest of the film. Odd.
The movie hits its stride when Cao Cao's army finally gets to Red Cliff. Settled in, we see characters using intelligence to succeed in the face of overwhelming odds.
I just can't get all that worked up about this movie. It represents an amazing achievement in terms of scale. It cost USD$80 million to produce. Personal preference, I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment