Cineasia UK Blu-ray Synopsis: 1950, Korea. At the height of the Korean war, the 7th Infantry Company of the Chinese voluntary army are sent to blow up a bridge, preventing US forces from regrouping at nearby Xingnan Port. A series of gruelling clashes and a tense battle of wills ensues, with both sides determined to hold their position at any cost, in the harshest weather conditions. (149 Mins)

 

Views: Running just a little shorter than its predecessors 3 hour mark, The Battle At Water Gate Bridge picks up where the first film left off with Wu Jing and his loyal army still stuck on the snowy mountainside. With many soldiers freezing and starving to death, Wu encourages his men to move forward in their battle against the U.S. Army in an attempt to take out one of their air bases. After an explosive showdown, the CPV learn that they can put a major delay to the invaders by destroying one of their major strongholds at Water Gate Bridge. Intent on putting a stop to the Americans once and for all, Wu leads his army into their biggest battle yet – a battle that results in almost 2 hours of impressively directed action, packed with incredible stunt work, powerful shoot-outs, and brutal attacks that racks-up the body count by the minutes!

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Thankfully, the directors tone down the patriotism and melodrama this time, helping The Battle At Water Gate Bridge come across like one big action-movie, with that 30 minute-less running time making things run much smoother. I suppose when you think about it, The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin is practically one big six-hour film, chopped in half to allow audiences to take it all in without being overwhelmed and disturbed from the amount of brutality on offer – although I highly recommend watching them one after the other if you have the time. Once again my hat is off to directors Tsui Hark, Dante Lam, and Chen Kaige for continuing to deliver another epic piece. 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. Each director would also double-up in a second role behind the scenes, with Kaige serving as one of the films producers, Hark as one of the editors, and Lam as one of the action designers.

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Most of the major cast members from the first film returns once again, with the awesome Wu Jing leading the way once again. 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 that with The Sacrifice – a similarly themed war-epic set during the Korean war which also did a great run on the big screen. Jackson Yee also returns as the younger Wu brother, with both stars joined once again by an enormous cast of Chinese and Western actors.

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Stephen Tung Wai, Dante Lam, Bruce Law, Yang Shuai, Huang Kaisen, Tang Chiu Yau, and Che Kim Fai continue to deliver more brutal action – this time around offering more close-combat fight action, and plenty of kinetic gun-play (and explosions) that took me back to the best of the 'heroic bloodshed' genre from Hong Kong cinemas heyday. In fact, I'd say that The Battle At Water Gate Bridge is definitely more 'Hong Kong' in flavour than the first film, from its pace and direction to the aforementioned incredible action scenes. I don't think I've seen any film that has such an extensive closing action scene (practically 90 minutes), and especially one that has been so incredibly designed and beautifully filmed, with such brutal moments that consistently leaves your mouth hanging open – I immediately think back to the many shots of men just bursting into a million pieces as bombs and bullets rip through them. Of course, it all boils down to a harsh and emotional climax that, as many have before it, highlights the horrors of war and the devastation it brings. It's incredibly directed, it's shocking, it's well acted, and wonderfully delivered, making The Battle At Water Gate Bridge (or The Battle At Lake Chang-Jin 2) one of the best Chinese war movies to date. It did, at times, remind me a little of another Chinese war film, Axis Of War 2: The Long March, and the attack on the stronghold across a massive bridge of chains. Incidently, that film was produced by August First Films who are also behind these epics along with China Film Company and many others. But this is definitely their best and an incredible cinematic achievement!

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Overall: Continuing it's epic scale from the previous chapter, The Battle At Water Gate Bridge is a stunning and action-packed conclusion to the harsh story of the 7th Infantry!

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Blu-ray Extras: Trailer

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