John Woo ventures into new territory with the famous Battle of Red Cliff tale, and though his debut in the genre is flawed, he manages to reign in the epic narrative with both action-packed choreography and humble reverence for his characters.

It's 208 AD, and the scheming Prime Minister Cao Cao is set to inherit the fading Han Empire. Having already conquered the North, Cao Cao sends his mighty army to the southlands of China, in an attempt to unify the entire kingdom under his control.

As Cao Cao's men march towards them, General Liu Bei's military strategist Zhuge Liang organizes an alliance with Sun Quan, a neighboring warlord.

The two consolidate their armies, and Zhuge and Sun's Viceroy Zhou Yu lead the allied forces to a minor victory against Cao Cao's formidable cavalry, a precursor to the great battle still to be won at sea.

The Battle of Red Cliff is a dramatic tale of strategy and wit, and the film serves to fill in the complicated imaginary spaces of the book with vivid, awe-invoking visuals, harrowing battle sequences and stunning scenes of scale. The individual heroics of the characters in battle are depicted with clever and acrobatic choreography, and Woo makes military strategy look aesthetically breathtaking, especially in the film's big battle finale.

to venture into 尝试;进入action-packed (戏剧、电影裡)动作场景不断出现的reverence (n.) 崇敬;尊敬scheming (adj.) 诡计多端的;阴谋的to inherit (v.) 继承;接收to consolidate (v.) 团结;联合formidable (adj.) 强大的;庞大的precursor (n.) 前兆;预兆awe-invoking 令人震惊的;令人叹為观止的harrowing (adj.) 惨烈的;悲惨的