Battle of Xiangjiang River (2017) Online

The film plunges you smack bang in the middle of the action from the opening scene. It then jumps around between so many characters that you hardly get to know any of them and its rather difficult to follow exactly what's happening. They then throw names of people, places and Divisions around as if we're supposed to be familiar with them, while we actually have no idea who they're talking about. I found the dialogue over-dramatic and somewhat forced, as well as repetitive. The film had way too much music, which also became repetitive. There hardly ever was a moment without music.

The editing made the film feel non-linear and some scenes gave me a sense of deja vu. In fact, it felt like they shot only a few battle scenes and used it in fragments during the course of the movie. Some characters remained in the exact same location from beginning to end! None of the characters really stood out for me. All the characters seemed dispensable. I couldn't help but get the feeling the film was written by someone who knew nothing about warfare (pardon me if I'm wrong). If you are a fan of war movies - like me - this one will disappoint. Although some of the battle scenes were well done, it carried little emotion and for most I couldn't care about any of the characters.

I'll admit, its not bad for a first-time director, but compared to the myriad of war films out there, this one just doesn't make the grade.