Red Cliff - A Flop

Watched Red Cliff today with Eugene and I was utterly disappointed at the show. Same sentiments with viewers in China, the show was more of a comedy than an epic. A more Hollywood-style chinese movie but definitely a joke if they are showing this to the chinese where the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of four top chinese literature works. I believe its failure could be traced to a few factors:

1. Weak cast. Other than Tony Leung, Zhang FengYi(Cao Cao) and Hu Jun(Zhao Yun), the other cast do not have the acting chops to carry off a decent period movie. The portrayal of certain characters are laughable most of the times, like Guan Yu lacks an some arrogance.
   
   
2. Not living up the name. It didn't help that the 1995 100 episodes drama serial of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was so good that the style of each characters are deeply etched in fans.
   
   
3. Modern dialogue. Imagine MacBeth played out in modern english dialogues in those school skits. You laugh right? Period shows should adopt a style of language suitable for the era it represents. In Red Cliff the style is often too casual.
   
   
4. Funnies. No one forbids jokes/funny stunts in epic movies but at the very least it should be kept to a minimal yet introduced at suitable times. Legolas using a shield as a skateboard was done so nicely that it enhanced viewers' perception of his abilities. Recall the scene where the soldiers throw ropes, pulling enemies in and killing them; leaving one looking around to find out where his comrades have gone to before falling prey. Come on!
   
   
5. Lousy fight scenes. Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei are valiant but they're not indestructible and certainly do not enjoy fighting alone. The show is more of giving the actors more screen time doing their 'I can kill everyone' stunts than portraying a better fight scene. Even War and Beauty starring Kelly Chen does this better.
   
   
6. Too lengthy. Many scenes can actually be done away without affecting the story much. There are just too many redundant scenes in the movie. Who cares how a horse give birth? I think that scene alone took up like 10 mins of the show.
   

So for those who have not watched, its certainly not worth the money.