Red Cliff Part I & Part II

I enjoy many of these epic, vast-scale Chinese films: the heights and the depths of power, struggle, and heroic sacrifice or tragedy. But while "Red Cliff" is advertised as a top-of-the-line example of this type of film making, it's really a tremendous disappointment in all ways. Yes, it's huge in scale, but the story is a garbled mess, the acting is terrible, and not one character provokes interest or compassion. The director obviously decided that monstrous battle scenes would beef up the appeal, but that fails miserably in that they are too numerous, and too incredibly long and boring. Yes, boring! Even the main characters in the conflicts stand and stare more than take action. Perhaps filming was as tedious and horrible for them as it is for the viewer. Solution A: don't bother. Solution B: fast forward from beginning to end (in case you got it as a gift and feel too ashamed to throw it away . . . kind of like a dreadful fruitcake from Aunt Edna). For the best of the genre, go back to Kurosawa's "Dreams" (1990) or the devilishly amazing and disturbing "Curse of the Golden Flower." "Red Cliff" I and II are epics all right . . . epic wastes of time.