Fact-inspired hooey about Chinese resistance fighters in the Sino-Japanese war (it’s 1939), trying to stop Japanese Occupation forces from running war supplies on the trains. Old-fashioned, a bit corny and plenty patriotic (the film takes a break before the final action sequence to administer the Chinese Communist Oath to new volunteers), it’s also darn entertaining. Not far from ‘60s Hollywood WWII ‘mission’ pics (think GUNS OF NAVARONE/’61; DIRTY DOZEN/’67; KELLY’S HEROES/’70), but with the weird æsthetic combo of modern CGI embellishment next to fake snow left over from 1940s M-G-M. You'll recognize the character types: grizzled heroes who quip before blowing themselves up for the cause; youngsters with specialized knowledge; a pretty nurse who’ll keep your secret & staunch the bleeding; and loads of cigarettes to dramatically light and share . . . even with that cunning, sadistic enemy leader. Oddly, the film starts in relatively realistic mode (note a barbaric, pointedly harrowing execution), before loosening up into Boys’ Adventure’ tropes as it goes along, reversing the usual pattern. All nicely supported by awesome production values & detailed period touches by crafty debuting writer/director Feng Yang, already a natural (and already knowing which side of the bread is buttered) in his first at bat.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Over on the European Front, Burt Lancaster & John Frankenheimer set the bar for these things in THE TRAIN/’65. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2009/02/train-1965.html
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