Powerful and almost great.

Rating: 7/10 (9 September 2012)

The opening ten minutes is an amazing sequence that draws you into the streets of Nanking circa 1937. It's clear we are in the hands of a master director, with all the right elements in place, particularly the cinematography. The Chinese have been doing that part at least, better than anyone else for the past decade.
So it's quite a surprise to see Christian Bale pop up, speaking English. He's a fine actor and one of the film's strengths though his dialog at times is a little too modern. His character is the centerpiece to the story and it's easy to see why he took the role. It's a solid story set in a maelstrom, most of the drama taking place inside a church, being the literal calm inside the tornado. There are a number of dilemmas which drive the action, the same as all films, yet the incidents that initiate several of these dilemmas feel forced and a little trite. To give more information would require a spoiler and I don't want to give anything away. It's a shame as the situations themselves are dramatically effective and with so many of the right elements in place, they let the film down. It's essentially sloppy writing. It feels lazy which lessens your empathy with certain characters. I'd give it an 8 if it weren't for that.
Everything else works very well, the cast, the cinematography and direction as mentioned are the standouts, as well as some glorious sets. Some dialog scenes are too long and Bale's character transformation is a little too sudden and dramatic but the film will stay with you, hopefully encouraging you to research the background to the horror story that was the Nanking Massacre, its effects which still linger today.