The Korean War has been a fertile ground for epic war features over the past few decades. Predominantly these have emerged from South Korea where the war is part of the national subconscious. Chinese cinema had tended to focus more on the impact of World War 2 and its aftermath until the release of “The Battle at Lake Changjin” in 2021. A huge success at the box office and another in the current trend of “Melody” blockbusters that incorporate patriotic themes in amongst the entertainment. With the endeavor requiring three directors, it comes as no surprise that the sequel was shot back-to-back to make the most of the production costs.
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The 7th Company headed by Qianli (Wu) accompanied by his brother Wanli (Jackson Yee) attack the airfield protected by the American 1st division, supported by the artillery battalion headed by Yang (Geng Le). After successfully forcing the Americans to retreat, they regroup. They are then sent to destroy the Sunam bridge that is being used for the retreat. A bitter struggle ensues as the 7th Company find themselves battling entrenched opponents and bitter conditions.
“The Battle of Lake Changjin 2” really requires you to have seen the first feature to fully connect with what is happening on screen and there is an assumption that you will have. Whilst we get a brief recap of the events of the prequel, it is essentially edited highlights so if you haven't seen it then you are not going to get the dramatic elements. You can pick things up as it progresses, but the core story of brothers Qianli and Wanli has already been explored previously. What it leaves us with is a men-on-a-mission movie that throws us straight into the action and for the most part the pace never lets up from there. We get a few quieter contemplative moments but having set up characters in part 1, this is all about the action.
With three directors, it is difficult to determine individual voices as their styles are married together in the service of the whole. Tsui Harks love of comic book panel style framing is evident in some scenes with the odd use of split screen and a couple of moments that have that “feel” in the editing. One of his idols, King Hu, was a great believer in movement within camera to maintain the flow of the action and this is taken to the nth degree here with frequent movement within shot and a constantly moving camera both in the wide frame taking in the panoramas and often even within the confined sets. Dante Lam's work in the “Operation” series had this same kind of fluidity so his influence is there but in terms of directorial style, it is certainly a collaborative effort.
That brings us nicely to the sometimes-contentious aspects of the melody film. The first feature was criticized for its loose sense of history accuracy. This is less pronounced here but as ever when watching a war film, it is worth remembering the perspective of those that are creating it. The patriotism too is less pronounced. Again, in the first feature there are scenes that are designed to fit within the model of the melody feature. Here we get one scene about half-way through where the 7th Company recognize they are near China which lies beyond a mountain range and as the sun rises turn and salute. That is about as far as it goes here, which makes it more palatable. Interestingly however, General MacArthur gets a cameo appearance and when asked if his troops can fall back yells over the phone “Retreat is treason”. Essentially, we have the American general voicing the ideology rather than the Chinese.
Dramatically, it struggles for the reasons given previously. There is a lot of spectacle on display here and the budget has clearly not been wasted with everything on screen. The Wintry setting is atmospheric but for the most part it's a lot of noise. We don't really get to know many of the characters and so the emotional context until the last 20minutes or so is the equivalent of a war simulator on a PlayStation. It's like being an observer rather than feeling the impact of the blood and thunder on display. With the few characters that are fully sketched, their backstories were told in the first film, so if you haven't seen it then you have nothing to relate to. The truck sacrifice at the conclusive confrontation is a replay of a similar scene we have seen in the original. The final section of the piece does succeed in hitting home but that is due to it being the conclusion of the brother's journey. It almost comes as a surprise due to the lack of dramatic weight experienced in the previous 2 hours.
Wu Jing with the “Lake Changjin” and “Wolf Warrior” series has become a central figure in “Melody” productions. He has a strong physical presence but not necessarily the dramatic range needed for the central part of Qianli. He is basically a super soldier looking out for his younger brother and that is the entirety of his character arc. Jackson Yee as Wanli gets more to do as his younger sibling experiences the impact of the war and his final scenes with Wu Jing hit the mark. Geng Le of the supporting cast resonates the most as the Artillery commander that is constantly requiring the 7th Company to steal more guns for him. The American cast struggles to come across well and is reminiscent of the classic days of Hong Kong where if you were unfortunate enough to speak English then you would realize just how bad the acting was, as local audiences would not!
“The Battle at Water Lake Bridge” is not a bad film, it's just taken on its own merits; it lacks the dramatic content to match the spectacle on display. If you haven't seen the first, then all you are left with is an empty spectacle of explosions and noise. The action is well put together and the budget is there on the screen. One to test out your sound system and widescreen television but not one that will leave too much of a lasting impression sadly.
The Battle at Water Lake Bridge will be released on 26th December on Digital and 9th January for Blu-ray & DVD, courtesy of Trinity CineAsia
