Red Cliff 2
Red Cliff 2
Director: John Woo
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Hu Jun, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Zhang Fengyi, Lin Chiling, Shidou Nakamura
The story of RED CLIFF takes place in China during the Han Dynasty. Despite the presence of an emperor, Han Xiandi, China was then divided into many warring states.
The ambitious Prime Minister Cao Cao, by using the Emperor as his puppet, waged war on a kingdom in the west, Xu, ruled by the emperor’s uncle, Liu Bei. Cao Cao’s ultimate goal was to wipe out all the kingdoms and install himself as Emperor to a unified China. Liu Bei sent his military advisor Zhuge Liang as an envoy to the Wu Kingdom in the south, trying to persuade its ruler Sun Quan into joining forces. There he met Wu’s Viceroy Zhou Yu, and the two became friends amidst this uneasy alliance.
The ambitious Prime Minister Cao Cao, by using the Emperor as his puppet, waged war on a kingdom in the west, Xu, ruled by the emperor’s uncle, Liu Bei. Cao Cao’s ultimate goal was to wipe out all the kingdoms and install himself as Emperor to a unified China. Liu Bei sent his military advisor Zhuge Liang as an envoy to the Wu Kingdom in the south, trying to persuade its ruler Sun Quan into joining forces. There he met Wu’s Viceroy Zhou Yu, and the two became friends amidst this uneasy alliance.
In Red Cliff Part I, Prime Minister Cao Cao bullied the Emperor into letting him command the Imperial Army, after which he used to wage war on warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan in Southern China. Liu Bei, together with his army and remaining civilians, fled with the aid of Zhang Fei, his sworn brother. They make plenty of alliances along the way, and this is my shortcut to saying “screw the names, just know that the bad guy is Cao Cao”. The allies work together in perfect synchrony to oppose Cao Cao’s bigger (and dumber) army, in ways that will make you smirk at Cao’s piss poor foresight and over-confidence. The first movie ended with Takeshi sending out a dove all Noah-like, Shangxiang (Zhao Wei) disguised as a soldier riding out to battle, and a fancy football game better left forgotten.
This year, they’re back with an even bigger bag of tricks, turtle and whatnot, up their sleeves. Woo also has a bigger challenge to meet: the expectations of those who’ve seen Part I. Part II, fortunately, is just as hilariously cheeky, unless, of course, you’re Cao Cao. And this time, the girls join in the fray too. We see Shangxiang going undercover and infiltrating Cao’s army within the first twenty minutes of the film, and it’s not long before you start worrying about whether or not she’ll get caught. In this way, Part II quickly slides from being cheeky to worrisome to pure warring carnage. While it was mostly fun and games in Part I, Part II takes casualties. It does not matter that director John Woo seems to be rooting for the good guys - as arrows whistle through the sky, I actually felt worried for Liu Bei and co.
As before, the chemistry of the star-studded cast makes a good viewing reason, the way you expect to be entertained by Danny Ocean and his band of thieves. Watch this with a friend - you’ll have fun second guessing what characters are thinking, and who will end up being cannon fodder
This year, they’re back with an even bigger bag of tricks, turtle and whatnot, up their sleeves. Woo also has a bigger challenge to meet: the expectations of those who’ve seen Part I. Part II, fortunately, is just as hilariously cheeky, unless, of course, you’re Cao Cao. And this time, the girls join in the fray too. We see Shangxiang going undercover and infiltrating Cao’s army within the first twenty minutes of the film, and it’s not long before you start worrying about whether or not she’ll get caught. In this way, Part II quickly slides from being cheeky to worrisome to pure warring carnage. While it was mostly fun and games in Part I, Part II takes casualties. It does not matter that director John Woo seems to be rooting for the good guys - as arrows whistle through the sky, I actually felt worried for Liu Bei and co.
As before, the chemistry of the star-studded cast makes a good viewing reason, the way you expect to be entertained by Danny Ocean and his band of thieves. Watch this with a friend - you’ll have fun second guessing what characters are thinking, and who will end up being cannon fodder
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