Doesn't quite manage to properly communicate what it intends to

Rating: 6/10 (6 August 2009)

This is an interesting case. Every single other movie I've watched or heard of that was directed by Woo has one definite quality to it, regardless of what exactly it deals with... and that is that they're action-packed and stylish like a whole bunch of other flicks only *wish* they could be. So how was he going to fare when doing a serious war film? He tones down that famous aspect of his works, so much so that it almost completely disappears, which is, of course, exactly what he ought to. And the battle scenes here are chaotic and, to an extent, unpredictable, so he captures that well. Only, it doesn't last. It seems like, at some point, he just said "heck, this isn't me", and from then on, we're in Hollywood-ville. I'm not claiming that it's not cool and entertaining(if not entirely as much as it tries to be), but that it really shouldn't be, not in this type of feature. This, I'm very sorry to say, has some of the worst unrealistic, biased combat sequence stuff I've ever seen. It does tend to be exciting. The message is obvious, one of accepting other cultures, and it does get a genuinely sharp and poignant line or two in there, though most of the impact of any of this gets kind of lost. Acting, cast and dialog are good. The script is fine, if not terribly original. I can't determine where exactly focus was lost, before or during production of this. A lot of this comes off as authentic. Pacing is decent. The effects are reasonable. In the end, this simply doesn't hook you in, make you care, or deliver a sufficiently(in spite of several instances that hit the mark perfectly) credible an account of armed conflict. There is a moderate amount of strong language, graphic violence and disturbing content. I recommend this only to the biggest fans of those who made it. Sorry, John. Better luck next time. 6/10