DVD OF THE WEEK

THE BATTLE OF RED CLIFF ****
Dir: John Woo
Starring: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi

John Woo didn't have the happiest of times in Hollywood, being forced to meld his classic style to material that he didn't seem entirely comfortable with. We got Face/Off, a deliriously over-the-top bundle of fun, but not much else of interest.
Now, back in China, he has helmed that country's biggest-budget film, and a cracker it is too, revelling in all the stylistic and thematic elements that made Woo such a force in the first place.
Taking us back many centuries into Chinese history, the film centres on one of the country's most famous military encounters, the Battle of Red Cliff, wherein nasty Prime Minister Cao Cao led the Emperors troops to try and conquer two southern leaders. After political machinations and a good deal of male bonding (this is a John Woo film after all!) the Southerners join forces and take on the overwhelming northern army in a land and sea battle that is truly spectacular.
What we have here is actually a stripped-down version of the film. It still comes in at two and a half hours but was cut down from the Asian release which consisted of two films, each of that length. But, while some depth has been lost, the film still retains its epic stature. It really is stunning stuff.
If you are looking for comparisons, think Troy – history presented in broad strokes. But Red Cliff outclasses that film by placing more emphasis on military tactics, and the behind-the-scenes machinations as each opposing general tries to outfox the other lend a more cerebral element, even if the main attraction remains the battle itself. And what a battle! Aside from some iffy CGI flames it is truly a thing of wonder, and a timely reminder of why John Woo is held in such esteem.

In the Electric Mist (***) finds Tommy Lee Jones embodying top crime writer James Lee Burke's iconic detective Dave Robicheaux in a tough little thriller set around the swamps of Louisiana. Someone is killing and mutilating women and at the same time a forty-year-old old body in chains is uncovered. All the right elements are here – a fine central turn, great support from the likes of John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard and Mary Steenburgen, an atmospheric setting and a potent mystery – but for some reason they don't quite gel. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film, it's just that the pacing and suspense are muted, making for a bit of a plod – albeit an enjoyable one – rather than the KingHell thriller it might have been.

After freezing the world in The Day After Tomorrow, director Roland Emmerich completely destroys the whole planet in 2012 (***). And it's a bit silly really. Seems some old Mayan prophecy says that date is The End and the planets aligning seals our fate (don't worry, the science behind this has long been disproved). Governments react by building huge 'Arks”, floating havens where 400,000 people can be saved. John Cussack and his family discover all this (the general population has been kept in the dark) and begin a frantic race to get to the closest Ark (it's in China). Dumb, unbelievable stuff, but the first of the several earthquakes - an hour in of the two and a half hour running time – is the most spectacular cinematic destruction ever put on film. Truly amazing to watch. It's worth renting this schlock just for that.

I guess it was essential to the scheme of things that within less than a minute of appearing in Whiteout (**) Kate Beckinsale has stripped off and hopped in the shower. Personally I couldn't discern the thematic relevance – pleasing though it was – but I guess the filmmakers were after any excitement they could get. Down at the Amundsen-Scott base in Antarctica Beckinsale's US Marshall and a bunch of others are eager to get home before darkness falls for six months. Then a body is found – the continent's first ever murder. Unfortunately the subsequent investigation is dull and rambling, and the thriller elements are hampered by the fact that watching people run around in heavy blizzards just ain't that thrilling.