Cast Member: Hu Jun

A personal story told on a grand scale ‘Assembly’ is as good as war flicks get, finding a near perfect balance between a personal journey and large scale combat.

Overall it’s a wonderful film, a blockbuster people call it, and maybe it is, but really for us Asian movie fans this is what it’s all about – a hard hitting, hard punching film with a heart of gold and a fist of iron.

The result is a good big-budget action film though enjoyment will rest on how much Chinese flag-waving you can sit through.

As a continued supporter of Hong Kong cinema, it gives me no pleasure to call this absurd mess the biggest waste of a big budget in recent memory.

It never quite capitalises on a spirited beginning, eventually becoming more of a leaden-footed drama than a blood and thunder action flick.

Despite having no conclusion of its own, all of the groundwork of the characterisation and story make the next chapter an exciting prospect.

Part 2 is certainly the superior one, but both deserve individual credit for reviving the dying embers of John Woo’s career.

Zhang Yimou’s black, white and blood red opus mixes political intrigue, wuxia action and enough twists and turns to fill several mysteries.

The quality increases as the film progresses and the viewer is more invested in the characters, meaning that it stands out as one of the more exciting swordplay films of recent years.

Certainly not subtle but if you can forgive its flaws and instead bask in its blockbuster credentials, then ‘The Battle At Lake Changjin’ delivers some spectacular war movie action.

The film veers between harrowing war bloodshed and comic book daredevil action and while it never shies away from the horrors of war the film is always entertaining: certainly, from an action standpoint.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it succeeds in painting an interesting portrait of an aging gentleman looking for a little redemption.