Red Cliff 2 is the second part of John Woo’s epic "Battle of Red Cliff" movie. The film continues from where it left and shows flashes of important occurrences from the first Red Cliff movie (shown in July 2008).
SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai plays Viceroy Zhou Yu
Sun Shangxiang (Zhao Wei) acts as a spy for the allied army as she has disguised herself as a soldier of Cao Cao’s army. Cao Cao quickly promotes a soldier named Sun Shucai into a commander as he has impressed Cao Cao in the game of Cuju (ancient Chinese football). Sun Shangxiang is sending report to Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) via pigeon. When she bumps into Sun Shucai, he not only does not suspect her identity but they become close friends.
Meanwhile, some of Cao Cao’s soldiers have died from an epidemic which begins to spread among the troops. Cao Cao’s army physician advises him to burn the corpses instead of burying them to prevent to epidemic from spreading further. However, Cao Cao decides to send the corpses on rafts to the allied camp with an ill-fated intention of contaminating the allied army as well. Some of the allied army and civilians have brought the corpses ashore without knowing about the epidemic. Nevertheless, Zhuge Liang tests one of the corpses with a needle and finds it to be a contagious disease and immediately quarantines those who were in contact with the corpses.
Out of the blue, Liu Bei (You Yong) decides to leave the alliance with his followers of 20,000 soldiers, which greatly disappoints Sun Quan and Zhou Yu as they are in the midst of a great battle. Zhuge Liang, however, stays behind to assist the allied forces. When Cao Cao hears about the news, he becomes delighted and even throws a party to celebrate the good news.
With Liu Bei and his army leaving the alliance, Zhou Yu now has a new dilemma of finding at least 100,000 arrows. Zhuge Liang undertakes the task and confidently says he can get them within 3 days. Zhou Yu, meanwhile, vows he will eliminate Cao Cao’s naval commanders, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. They agree that whoever fails to complete the task would be beheaded. As Zhuge Liang has predicted the weather to be foggy, he and Lu Su sails towards the enemy with 20 small boats all covered with hay and straw and scarecrows. Cao Cao’s navy, led by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are tricked into firing a hundred thousand arrows into the enemy’s boat.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao has sent Jiang Gan, Zhou Yu’s former classmate to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender. Zhou Yu greets Jiang Gan warmly and even holds a banquet in his honor. During a swordplay, a piece of paper falls from the scabbard, but Zhou Yu manages to grab hold of it before Jiang Gan steals it. Later on, Zhou Yu excuses himself for an important news. Jiang Gan eavesdrops on the conversation and finds out that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are planning a plot to kill Cao Cao. When Zhou Yu is asleep, Jiang Gan steals the letter from Zhou Yu and learns that Cai and Zhang are indeed planning to assassinate Cao Cao and brings Cao’s head to Zhou Yu.
Cao Cao receives the news and letter from Jiang Gan but dismisses it as one of Zhou Yu’s strategies to trick him into killing his own men. However, when he learns that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun have wasted one hundred thousand arrows to the enemy, Zhuge Liang is smart enough to send back one of his small boats covered with hay and straw and scarecrows and tonnes of arrows back to Cao Cao’s camp. Cao Cao is furious when he sees the boat. Then, he compares the letter written by Cai with another letter written by Cai and immediately executes both Cai and Zhang only to realize he has been tricked. In order to content his anger, Cao Cao poisons Jiang Gan to death.
Sun Shangxiang returns from Cao Cao’s camp with detailed conditions of Cao Cao’s camp and formation. Cao Cao’s plan to attack is somehow delayed by Xiao Qiao, Zhou Yu’s wife who has secretly left and travel to Cao Cao’s camp. Since Cao Cao has greatest admiration to possess Xiao Qiao, she manages to slow him down by offering him a cup of tea even though she didn’t manage to persuade Cao Cao to end the war.
Lin Chi-ling as Zhou Yu’s wife, Xiao Qiao
In the remaining scenes, the Allied forces manage to prevail with intelligent strategies at both sea and land. Liu Bei’s forces also returns and attack Cao Cao’s main camp. In the end, Cao Cao loses the battle but his life is spared by the generous Zhou Yu.
Overall, the epic movie has quite many substantial differences compared to the chronicles. In fact, which movies that are adapted are 100% the same? John Woo manages to create a great war epic film that manages to glue the audience to their seats with his brilliant war strategies and action-packed movie.
My ratings: 8 out of 10.
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2 comments ↓
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
DISASTER …
Dont read the book if you want to enjoy this movie.
The film, if judged on it’s own merits, is a well-made and gripping film, revealing the tactics and mind games between Cao Cao and Zhao Yu and Zhuge Liang.
Those who dislike the film as in the poster above brings preconceived notions about the film’s departure from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However they should also realize that “Romance” was hardly realistic in the historical sense. The film should be judge on it’s own, and as it stands, it is a well-made movie.
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