This is one of those movies that tries to incorporate a good story with emotions but comes out less than mediocre. It's a watchable movie but it just lacked in a lot of areas and just isn't as effective as it tries to be. It's just poor film making done by amateur writing. I liked how it didn't have flashy kung-fu stuff to add to the realism but everything else just lacked the substance it tried to achieve. And it might have worked sorta but felt like a mix of other movies. Like it's a combination of "Russian Coffee" and "The Concubine". But not as dark or humanistic. The tragic romance elements just isn't needed in this movie and felt it just there to have Crystal Liu Yi Fei's pretty face on screen. Maybe it's to bring out a bit of the human side to Cao Cao but overall it just wasn't needed. This is basically about the last days of Cao Cao going in a what if direction. The main thing that stands out about this flick is Chow Yun-Fat. He can play a strong and domineering leader exterior wise and interior wise. And he did a great job of playing Cao Cao. Cao Cao is portrayed in this as a strong and domineering character that is forceful and yet has a bit of wisdom and a gentle side to him. And Cho Yun-Fat can really pull off those kinds of presence. Overall it's a watchable movie but isn't a powerful of a movie it tries to be.
5/10
5/10