Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
omigosh!, 24 April 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
The first half of this movie is Zulu meets Saving Private Ryan but with even more over the top pyrotechnics and the sort of stunt choreography you'd get in a Chinese Kung Fu epic, though nowhere near as fantastical. There's something about it that takes me back to the war movies from the 60s and 70s like The Big Red One or Cross of Iron. The film is set against the background of the Chinese civil war between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party, whose side our protaganists are on. Unsurprisingly the politics of the situation isn't really explored at all. You're not really left with the impression of good guys and bad guys, just two different sides who're killing each other however they can.
Half an hour in I thought I had the measure of this movie and was settling in for, and cheering on, two hours of gory mindless violence. Then at the halfway mark it turned into a very different type of film.
I was a little surprised by the second half but suffice to say that the last few moments of the film, while not exactly reducing me to tears, were very effective and did a good job of capping off what I thought was an extremely enjoyable film. In fact one of the better films I've seen in the last few months.
Cons for what is a quite dramatic change of pace, some slightly clichéd translation and subtitles that aren't always clear against the action on screen - though the only alternative to that is the ugly box background for the text and that would be even worse. There are also some plot "conveniences" but nothing that made me throw my popcorn at the TV.
Recommended for war movie fans everywhere but sensitive souls should note it's pretty gory but nothing as harrowing as you'd get in a modern Hollywood horror movie (torture porn). Special mentions for the Chinese scenery, as usual, which can really take your breath away.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Private Ryan goes to China?, 2 May 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
A movie in two halves, this Chinese film does a nifty job of both emulating the style that made Ryan such a hit, and providing enough of a soul to go along with it to be interesting on its own merit.
Based on a novel, which itself was based on a true story, the movie is set in the late 40's during the Chinese Civil War and goes on into the following decade. The first half sees the Captain ordered with his company into a desolate war zone in 1948, to hold and fight to the last man until he hears the bugle cry of assembly. It never comes... scenes of carnage in greyed out colours in very shaky camerawork (as patented my Spielberg) ensue... all fairly effectively done. However, it is in the second half, that the film finds its heart.. The Captain, now scarred both physically and emotionally, realizes his company are listed as missing, affording them no honour, and so he makes it his goal to find proof of their story and restore their name.
It is surprising to see a movie like this, after a decade or more of brightly coloured highly choreographed wushu epics made China more of an international movie force.. this is quite the opposite, with its realism, grim tone and very human heart. In taking so many cues from Western films like Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, there is perhaps an element of disappointment in what at first seems a lack of originality. In fact, during some of the battle scenes the shaky camera work just seems a fraction too much, as if they have not quite developed the skill set yet. The script and the music both feel almost self consciously Western in origin. In addition, while the journey in the latter half to redemption is effective, the time and location shifts are clunky in places and serve to distract rather than build development of the story.
Having said that, this is a uniquely Chinese story, during a period of history that is close to Chinese hearts, and why not tell it? The latter half, the all important journey to redemption, is handled deftly, and the end result should move even the toughest hearts just a little, with themes of honour, loyalty and brotherhood unhindered by jingoism or propaganda.
A recommended watch then, and yet more signs that China is showing no end to its high quality movie output.
Extras include around an hour of in depth analysis of all aspects of the moviemaking, from story through cast to details such as effects and costumes.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A matter of honour - the bugle call, 5 May 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
There are quite a few War Movies made about soldiers reminiscent of war. Saving Private Ryan, Brotherhood, Flags of Our Fathers and Days of Glory to name a few. This movie ranks with the best of them.
This movie is surprising in many ways. First of its production values are very high and on par with the best of Hollywood or European Cinema. In fact this is a much better movie than Enemy at the Gates or Flags of Our Fathers and is quite possibly what Flags wanted to be. It takes some getting used to watching a Chinese movie that feels European.
The story is in two parts.
The first half is a continuation of battle scenes that are among the best in war movies for some time. The prespective is at company level so you get quite big battles but it is possible to focus on individuals. Scenery and unit detail is incredible and everything is well done. There is a small dash of theatrics but for the most part these are very realistic gritty battle scenes with excellent cinema work. As I said the best to be seen for quite some time, I would say on par with Band of Brothers except the scenes are bigger and more impressive than in the television series. Attention to detail is of high quality and viewers will be treated to quite a novel experience such as oil barrel mortars. War movie enthusiast should be well pleased. Also the movie throws you right in there from the start with no sentimental scenes of old men in war cemeteries, lying in their dying bed etc.
The second part is a story of redemption. As a survivor Gu Zidi tries to piece togeather what happened and redeem his brothers and himself. This part of the movie is a very Chinese story set in the post civil war Communist state of China and will be harder on the general audience. The important part is if the bodies of the dead are not found then the soldiers are MIA and their families honour is tarnished. Their deaths are worth 200 barrels of rice but would be 700 barrels if the died heroes of Liberation, but that is merely trying to put a price to honour, and the Chinese take honour very seriously. This one man struggle is hard since record keeping in the civil war is sketchy at best and the battlefield has turned into a mountain of coal from nearby mines. Close to the end a solitary veteran is trying to dig at the mountain of coal to redeem his brothers.
The pace of the two stories is very different but the story is focused, linear and is free from going constantly back and forth. Historically it is interesting in that I don't recall any other movie set in the post World War 2 Chinese Civil War although this movie goes on to the Korean War. Nor is this movie any kind of white wash with clear boundries. It goes on in shades of gray.
I thought the movie was good, in fact probably the best one of its kind. I liked how the story went in a straight line instead of going back and forth but it did break the story into 2 distinct halves. War movie buffs will find pleanty to like as will those with an interest in Chinese history if they can stomach the first half and even then there are interesting things such as lack of equipment of the communists and the portrayal of the Chinese soldiers and the conduct of the communist forces. In this day and age when it has become popular to demonize Mao, people tend to forget that there was a reason why the communists won. I recommend Assembly and look forward to seeing more of this new Chinese Cinema.
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