With the cast established, their motivations solidified, the stage set and the first volleys already thrown in the original, John Woo is able to just sit back, relax, and make the thoroughly indulgent epic action picture he always wanted in its sequel. Where the first film thematically leans more in the direction of theology and politics, backed by a brief taste of large-scale military maneuvers, this follow-up is a full-gale blast of battlefield planning and dramatic execution. History buffs may grimace at a few of its flashier moments, like the warrior who uses his spear to pole vault over enemy battalions, but those are rare enough to write off as passing fits of eccentricity from a director who's not always known for his realism. Besides, the real sizzle lies with the world-class, hour long battle scene that closes the picture - and the obscene amount of fascinating war maneuvers seen therein. It's the mother of all fight scenes, an intense, unrelenting thrill ride the likes of which hasn't been seen from the west in decades, if ever. And, as Woo addresses one of my biggest complaints about the first Red Cliff - the generic, evil-for-the-fun-of-it enemy commander who's admirably rounded out in a few powerful scenes - it's ultimately an even better effort than its predecessor. A thrilling, intense, large-scale classic that makes for one hell of a payoff.

RED CLIFF II is the second part of John Woo's historical epic, based on a true story. It's the better of the two films, as it finally gets to the 'meat' of the battle and the last hour in particular is all pay-off. Before then we get another hour and a half of slow moving material in which things get confused at times and everything feels a little bit too dragged out; I'm dead against meddling and censorship, but I actually feel the truncated international version of this film has the edge over the two parter. The cast are all very good and the production values are exemplary, but you just wish there was more material and more involvement in terms of plotting. The good news is that the naval war and huge battles of the last hour are exemplary and as near perfect historical action as you could wish for, and worth the wait in this case.

The enjoyment of this film really relies on watching 'Part One' first as it introduces all the characters and explains the set up so my comments here assume the reader has seen part one.

This follows on immediately from Part One with the rival forces on opposite banks of the Yangtze. Prime Minister Cao Cao has the superior forces and it looks as though things are getting even worse for the 'Rebels'. After a typhoid outbreak in his camp Cao Cao he puts infected bodies on rafts and lets then drift to the rebel camp where the infection spreads and causes Liu Bei to take his much needed troops away. It isn't all bad for the rebels, Sun Shangxiang has disguised herself as one of Cao Coa's soldiers and infiltrated his camp. Here she sends messages back while also drawing a map of all his fortifications and military formations; she also befriends an enemy soldier. The rebels have small victories when Zhou Yu uses subterfuge to make Cao Cao think his two top admirals are traitors and Zhuge Liang uses a particularly devious method to gain 100,000 arrows off their enemy. Sun returns to the rebels with her map and everything is set for the epic battle all they need is for the weather conditions to change to their advantage.

If you enjoyed the first half of the story watching this film is a no-brainer… especially if you bought the DVD which includes both parts! I'd advise not watching too much time between watching each part as very little time is wasted on getting the viewer up to speed on what happened before. The first half of the film effectively sets things up as the two side try to ensure their victory. Each has its ups and down as there are setbacks and minor victories. There is also some humour; much provided by Sun as she poses as an enemy soldier and nobody even suspects that this attractive woman is not a man! When the battle scenes start they are spectacular and barely let up till the end of the film. The action is impressively varied with explosions as fire sweeps through the fleet and more traditional fighting scenes. These scenes are tense and it is by no means certain who will survive. The cast does a great job bringing the characters to life with the help of John Woo's direction. Overall this was a gripping conclusion to the story.

These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitle… be warned the subtitles are rather small if you are watching on a relatively small TV unless you are close to the screen!