Film Review: Red Cliff
Bottom line: A formidable prelude to an epic battle with resplendent effects and action spectacles.
July 11, 2008
By Maggie Lee

HONG KONG -- As the first film to re-create the 208 A.D. Battle of Chibi, the most famous military feat in Chinese history, John Woo's "Red Cliff" is a Pan-Asian project with the word "monumental" written all over it. The 140-minute first half that opened across major Asian territories is only a prelude that provides the beams and columns for the narrative framework, but with a few decisive and spot-on action spectacles, it sufficiently kindles expectations for the climactic clash in upcoming Part 2. The Western version will be a shorter, condensed one.

Costing $80 million and years in the making, "Red Cliff" is the most expensive Chinese-language picture ever mounted. Its investors likely are to recoup most of it from the Asian market, where the story has infiltrated school curriculum, computer games and manga.

Although this is hailed as Woo's "homecoming" after his Hollywood tenure, hardcore disciples of his Hong Kong oeuvre will be straining hard to find the all-stops-out passion and sinewy machismo that ignited his bullet ballets such as "A Better Tomorrow" or "The Killer." Such signature themes as male bonding and David-and-Goliath face-offs still drive the action, but the functional script has dismantled much of the original story's dramatic intricacies and character complexities, then reassembled it into a easy-to-follow three-act structure.

The epic opens with ambitious Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) browbeating the emperor of Han into authorizing a campaign to crush his enemies, Liu Bei and Sun Quan (Chang Chen) in their southern strongholds. In the first big action scene, most reminiscent of Woo's earlier SFX-free brute heroics, Gen. Zhao Yun (Hu Jun) single-handedly battles whole armies to save Liu's infant son.

The middle act replaces action with character interaction, focusing on Liu's strategist Zhu-ge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) persuasion of Sun Qun to ally with Liu and his elaborately built-up meeting with Sun's viceroy, Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). The men's chemistry flickers but does not sparkle. Most of this section, notwithstanding a gratuitous sex scene plus some comic capers, lacks a gripping atmosphere. The modernized dialogue is accessible but lacks eloquence and gravity.

A change of tone and tempo at 105 minutes into the film brings a welcome catharsis with a 20-minute extended battle sequence that has the speed and grandeur of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classics. As the troops of Liu and Sun unite in a strategic formation against Cao's 200,000 cavalry assault, masterfully varied cinematography captures an astounding array of military pageantry, martial arts sequences and ancient weaponry that could be a war game geek's wet dream.

With an ensemble of key figures to introduce, the main roles physically look the part but still need to warm up to each other. The pivotal Zhu-ge and Zhou have been apocryphally depicted as rivals, but Woo's decision to follow history and turn them into potential soul mates weakens dramatic power. More of a romantic, melancholy heartthrob, Leung has the acting chops but not the physique or the commanding presence of a martial hero that would be the equivalent of Charlton Heston or Toshio Mifune.

Eschewing the ornate Orientalism of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Curse of the Golden Flower," production and costume designer Tim Yip goes for historical accuracy and creates a period look that is imperious and dignified.

影評:《赤壁》

概要：一部令人敬畏的史詩般的戰斗前奏曲。效果燦爛奪目，打斗場面壯觀。

2008年7月11日
作者：Maggie Lee
From The Hollywood Reporter
摘自:《好萊塢報道》
作為重現公元208年赤壁之戰——中國歷史上最有名的軍事壯舉——的首部力作，吳宇森拍攝的電影《赤壁》是一個泛亞工程項目，足以用“豐碑” 一詞加以形容。在亞洲一些主要地區上映的《赤壁Ⅰ》，時間長達140分鐘，只是為故事框架填梁加柱的前奏戲，但上集所展現出的一些重要的和精妙的壯觀打斗場景，足以激起觀眾對即將襲來的《赤壁II》中的巔峰對決寄予厚望。不過，在西方國家上演的版本將會相對較短和簡潔。

耗資8000萬美元和制作歷經數年的《赤壁》是有史以來最為昂貴的華語電影。影片投資者可能將要從亞洲市場獲取大部分票房收入。因為在亞洲，赤壁之戰的故事早已被編寫到學校課程、電腦游戲及連環漫畫之中。

盡管《赤壁》被譽為吳宇森在好萊塢發展后的“歸家之作”后，但對其香港作品崇拜的堅定追隨者正不遺余力地挖掘自身的熱血豪情和盛氣凌人的男子氣概，誠如《英雄本色》或《喋血雙雄》中的子彈芭蕾。吳宇森的招牌風格，諸如兄弟情意和以弱勝強的對抗仍在影片中占有主導地位，但為實用而編寫的劇本對原故事大部分戲劇性的錯綜復雜的情節和人物角色多變難控的關系有所改動，重新改編成易于遵循的三幕劇結構。

影片以野心勃勃的丞相曹操（張豐毅飾）挾天之以令諸侯，鎮壓割據南方的宿敵劉備和孫權（張震飾）為開始。在第一幕打斗現場，大將趙云（胡軍飾）孤身百萬軍中奪阿斗。此幕最易令人想起吳宇森早期作品中不采用特技的豪壯行為。

影片中場則是以個性的作用取代了動作打斗，側重點放在劉備的軍師諸葛亮（金城武飾）說服孫權同劉結盟，及其同孫權的大都督周瑜（梁朝偉飾）精心設計的聯盟會面。兩人惺惺相惜，但卻英雄氣短。盡管無緣無故地增加些性愛片段和幽默的惡作劇，但本節大多情節缺乏一種吸引住人的氣氛。適應現代需要的對白方便觀眾理解，但氣吞山河的雄辯和浩然正氣的嚴肅元素卻蕩然無存。

在劇情上演到第105分鐘時，出現一段具有黑澤明武士經典之作中速度和氣魄的戰爭場景，時間持續長達20分鐘。語調和節奏上的改變給觀眾帶來一種頗受歡迎的宣泄。在孫劉形成戰略結盟，對抗曹操全副武裝的20萬大軍時，各式各樣的攝影片段極為專業地捕捉到數副令人震撼的壯麗的戰爭場面，以及武術鏡頭和古代兵器，而這或許正是一個戰爭游戲迷所夢寐以求的。

隨著一系列關鍵人物出場，主角雖然短暫相互會見，但仍需一段磨合期。關鍵人物瑜亮曾被虛構為敵手，但吳宇森尊重歷史令兩位私下成為知音的編寫削弱了戲劇性效果。頗為浪漫而又憂郁柔情的梁朝偉有打斗戲份，但其缺乏類似于查爾頓•赫斯頓（Charlton Heston）或三船敏郎(Toshir Mifune)等武術英雄的體格或威嚴。

制作兼服裝設計的葉錦添追求歷史的精準性，成功避開了《臥虎藏龍》和《滿城盡帶黃金甲》所表現的裝飾華麗的東方主義，并展現出一個專橫跋扈和莊嚴文雅的時代面貌。