THE BATTLE AT WATER GATE BRIDGE Review: Dante Lam’s Ceremonial War Epic Is Brought To A Bloody, Brutal And Sobering Close
Consider yourselves still invited to check out Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Dante Lam’s The Battle At Changjin Lake as its ceremonial pro-Communist China sequel now remains on deck for its UK release with director Lam’s The Battle At Water Gate Bridge (a.k.a. The Battle At Lake Changjin II). The events of the first film tie directly into the second with actors Wu Jing and Jackson Lee among the numerous names and faces shepherding the story of the members of the People’s Liberation Army in its efforts to beat back the Americans during the Korean War. The new film tackles the PVA’s latest mission, which is to blow up a bridge that is strategically vital to the Americans’ retreat, and the multiple attempts at doing so between every firefight and freezing temperature. The patriotic and jingoistic sentiments are still present but not as much as in the first film, while its more […]