Cineasia UK Blu-ray Synopsis: From three master film-makers comes one of the most epic and ambitious war movies ever made. During the winter of 1950, in the freezing cold Lake Changjin region, a bloody battle ensues between the United States and China. Faced with the harshest conditions of extreme cold, a lack of rations and vast differences in weaponry, the Chinese troops forge ahead in what was to become the most critical battle of the Korean war. Co-directed by Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Tsui Hark (Once Upon A Time In China franchise), Dante Lam (Operation Red Sea), and starring international superstar Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 1 & 2), The Battle At Lake Changjin cemented its place as the highest grossing war film ever made. (176 Mins)

 

Views: Epic war movies from China are really nothing new when you look at the last 3 or 4 decades of filmography from mainland studios. From the Axis Of War Trilogy to the incredible and award winning film, The Eight Hundred (which was absolutely my favourite film of 2020), as well as dozens and dozens before them, the Chinese war genre has often been heavily criticised for its heavy patriotism and – dare I say it – propaganda, when viewed by most critics and audiences outside of its country. But then again, the same can be said for most, if not all, Hollywood produced movies about the U.S. army and their place in war. It's a dead-cert that any studio which is making a movie about their home-country's armed forces, is going to highlight their heroes in the best possible way – regardless if they are in the wrong, went on to lose the war, or otherwise. Anything goes in the film world, and you know what they say about an 'artistic licensing' right? The latest epics to join these ranks, of course, are The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin 1 & 2, with the second chapter also known as The Battle At Water Gate Bridge. Commissioned by the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party to celebrate their 100th anniversary celebrations, the films tell the story of a number of soldiers from the People's Volunteer Army who went into North Korea to help push out the U.S. Forces in the winter of 1950. While it is a fictionalised tale of the true Battle Of The Chosin Reservoir and the events surrounding it, one can truly understand the devastating effects and harsh reality of what went down during its time. A lot of this is down to the slick direction, strong performances, and explosive action that's on offer – a cocktail of ingredients that went on to make The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin the most expensive film ever produced in China, as well as making it the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time (and the second highest-grossing film of 2021, respectively). Set around the north-east area of the Korean peninsula, the man-made Chang-Jin lake lies in some of the roughest terrain and became the battleground between Chinese and American forces during one of the worst winters to date; freezing the lake itself, weapons, medical supplies, and even the men themselves in some cases!

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Directed by three of Asia's most celebrated directors including the award-winning Chen Kaige, acclaimed Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, and highly bankable Hong Kong director Dante Lam, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin is such a well-made piece that it's hard to recognise just which parts exactly, each of the directors had done. Although famed for his historical dramas and action-adventures such as Farewell My Concubine, The Emperor & The Assassin, The Promise, and Monk Comes Down The Mountain, Chen's last foray into modern war would have been via his second directorial effort, The Big Parade, in 1986 – although not forgetting his brief starring role in 2009's star-studded Founding Of A Republic. I can only imagine that he, perhaps, handled most of the films more dramatic moments while the fantastic Tsui Hark would take the reigns on the epic-side of things, from the 3D visuals and set-up to the sweeping action sequences. Of course, Tsui was no stranger to sweeping action movies, or indeed the war genre with films such as Shanghai Blues, Peking Opera Blues, A Better Tomorrow 3, The Raid, and the epic Taking Of Tiger Mountain, which just as beautiful as it is brilliant. The wonderful Dante Lam, who I have long championed as one of the greatest Hong Kong directors of the last 20 years, has proven himself time and time again as one of Asian cinemas best action directors to date, impressing with war themed movies such as Operation Mekong, Operation Red Sea, and The Rescue (to some degree) as well as box-office hits like at The Twins Effect, Beast Stalker, The Sniper, The Stool Pigeon, The Viral Factor, and many more. So it's with this in mind, that I would say that Lam himself may have been behind the more action-based sequences such as the ground combat and explosive battle scenes. Regardless of who did what, I feel it was a pretty successful mission in having the trio work together and only regret not getting the chance to partake in such a project (due to Covid 19 locking-down the world right after I left Hong Kong).

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As expected, and bar the western cast members hired to play the American soldiers, the large cast of actors are played by a host of mainland actors – led into action by the irrepressible Jacky Wu Jing. Quite possibly China's most bankable star at the time of writing, this wushu wonder-boy made quite the impression when he replaced Jet Li for his debut role in Tai Chi 2 – a sequel of sorts to Tai Chi Master, both of which were from famed director Yuen Woo Ping. While other projects came and went, Wu gained more fans fast after starring in films such as Drunken Monkey, SPL, Fatal Contact, Invisible Target, and his directorial debut Legendary Assassin. But it would be his second directorial effort that would really start to shake things up, with Wolf Warrior making quite the impression and securing Wu Jing's place as one of China's biggest names. Of course, it was inevitable that a sequel would soon follow and for Wolf Warrior 2, Wu went all-out on every level securing the support of MCU actor Frank Grillo (Crossbones) as his big villain which, in turn, opened the cinematic doors of the west that would see his latest action-adventure film go on to become the highest crossing Chinese movie of its time, breaking many records upon release and elevating Wu Jing to superstar status. Interestingly enough, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin would very quickly knock his 3rd directorial feature off the number-one spot on its release , although it was hardly any skin off Wu Jing's nose as he is the main lead of both titles – as well as the epic Wandering Earth; China's massive box-office sci-fi hit from director Frant Gwo who followed up with The Sacrifice – a similarly themed war-epic set during the Korean war which also did a great run on the big screen. Here, Wu would be joined by new kid on the block, Jackson Yee, who made his film debut in Mr. Six. Duan Yi Hong, who had starred alongside Wu Jing in the fun Wind Blast, and Jerry Li Chen from the equally fantastic war-epics Saving General Yang, Assembly, Aftershock, and The Eight Hundred. The brilliant Hu Jun, recognisable from hits such as Golden Chicken, Infernal Affairs 2, Red Cliff 1 & 2, Mulan, Bodyguards & Assassins, Shadow, and the aforementioned Assembly; joins the ranks and had starred alongside Wu Jing just over a decade earlier in Jeff Lau's fun, but slightly disappointing, Metallic Attraction: Kung Fu Cyborg. I'd love to go through them all, but there's genuinely a cast of hundreds in The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin and I simply couldn't. That said, with so much going on I have to pay kudos to everyone involved for the sheer scale of it all – as well as delivering strong performances while working in the insane conditions seen on-screen.

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It's fair to say that The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin (and its sequel) are very beautifully captured – rich in colour and wonderfully lit. This is thanks to a number of Hong Kong cinematographers including the Oscar winning Peter Pau, a man who has been behind many great Hong Kong titles like The Killer, Saviour Of The Soul, The Iceman Cometh, Naked Killer, and The Bride With White Hair, as well as Jackie Chan's Forbidden Kingdom and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In 2002, Pau also directed Michelle Yeoh in The Touch – a fun, although flawed, Indiana Jones inspired action-adventure that briefly took her back to Magnificent Warriors days. He is joined by the wonderful Horace Wong, Tsui Hark's regular go-to man who has worked on an incredible amount of classics from A Better Tomorrow 1-3, A Chinese Ghost Story, Peking Opera Blues, The Big Heat, Kung Fu Jungle, Chinese Zodiac, Forbidden Kingdom and many more. Gao Hu, who worked with Tsui Hark on films such as Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate, Journey To The West: Demon Chapter, and The Taking Of Tiger Mountain, also joins them – as does Choi Man Lung; Tai Chi Zero, Tai Chi Hero, Meow, Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong, Iceman 3D, Kung Fu Yoga, and Dante Lam's Operation Red Sea. Chinese DOP, Ding Yu, who was behind many of Ding Sheng's directorial pieces like The Underdog Knight 1 & 2, Little Big Soldier, Police Story 2013, Saving Mr. Wu, and Railroad Tigers, also lends his talents.

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While much of its outside audience will no doubt complain that there is far too much propaganda and Chinese patriotism throughout the films (almost) 3 hour running time, I believe that – regardless of the politics involved – a film like this should be enjoyed for the piece of art that it really is, and that The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin definitely has more than enough highlights to enjoy. For me, these include the opening battle scene that sees the shot sweep across the ocean of U.S. Naval ships before the bombs reign-down on the Chinese border, and the air-raid attack on the Chinese army's train in the valley – a tense and explosive scene that interrupts a genuinely light moment between the troops before leading to a brutal and bloody attack on a rocky plain that sees some American pilots shoot at the Chinese soldiers in hiding, believing that they are all dead. It's a horrific moment which certainly fills the screen with dread and tension, leaving bits of Wu Jing's army scattered over the rocks. The action-packed (and lengthy) nighttime stand-off in the mountain village was fantastic, and offered up some harshly dark moments of realism akin to that seen in Saving Private Ryan and 1917 for example. I would like to say there was a homage 'of sorts' to Jackie Chan's infamous shanty town scene in Police Story – this time using tanks to smash their way through the houses instead of cars, but it's really not. The same can be said for the massive attack on the U.S. Forces on the wintery night of Nov 27th 1950. This scene is huge in every way, and an incredibly filmed war scene that just oozes the action and charm of Hong Kong cinema from yesteryear. It runs for just over 20 minutes before it takes a quick breath and continues with more explosive action, before delivering an emotionally heroic turn by Hu Jun. The closing moments of the film are also quite harrowing which show the U.S. Forces finding a small army of Chinese soldiers frozen to death as they lie in wait for their attack, respectably saluting the fallen soldiers before pulling back. Kudos to action-choreographers Stephen Tung Wai, Dante Lam, Bruce Law, Yang Shuai, Huang Kaisen, Tang Chiu Yau, and Che Kim Fai for delivering some hugely impressive moments!

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Having sat through this film a few times now, I simply can't deny just what a massive war epic it really is. And while it may have a few flaws (to the western viewer) in regards to its cheesy melodrama and patriotism that, if trimmed somewhat, may have made for a more finely tuned film with more focus on its incredible action scenes, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin is still one hell of an accomplishment – and another notch in the belt of its leading man, Wu Jing, who seems to be behind every major hit coming out of China in the last 5 or 6 years. Chen Kaige, Dante Lam, and Tsui Hark have done an amazing job with the latter also lending his editing skills to the production. Loosely based on true events, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin is well worth checking out for any fan of action films, war epics, or Chinese cinema – even that of its directors and main star.

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Overall: Massive in scale, cast, and action sequences, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin is visually impressive and superbly directed!

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Blu-ray Extras: Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video of this Cineasia release HERE

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Buy your copy HERE