First part
During the first part of the film's Asia release, Variety reported that the film enjoyed a tremendous start to its theatrical run across East Asia since its release date on 10 July 2008. The film scored a record-breaking opening weekend across six Asian territories. Variety also reported that the film received a generally positive critical reception in Hong Kong, China. In South Korea, the opening day of Red Cliff knocked Hancock down to 79,000 admissions Thursday, or an estimated gross of $550,000. The film also drew more than 1.6 million viewers in South Korea – about 130,000 more than the Batman sequel The Dark Knight. At a budget of US$80 million, along with media scrutiny over its lengthy and troubled shoot, including the death of a stunt man and the hospitalisation of its producer, the film was thought by many a big financial gamble, but industry insiders reported that good word-of-mouth and positive reviews appeared to be paying off for the film's strong box-office revenue.
The Associated Press (AP) gave the film a glowing review, writing, "John Woo displays the crucial distinction in the magnificently told Red Cliff, the Hong Kong director's triumphant return to Chinese film after 16 years in Hollywood" and "with Red Cliff, Woo shows he's still a masterful director to be reckoned with."
The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review, writing, "A formidable prelude to an epic battle with resplendent effects and action spectacles."
Variety also gave the film a favourable review, and describes Red Cliff: "balances character, grit, spectacle and visceral action in a meaty, dramatically satisfying pie that delivers on the hype and will surprise many who felt Woo progressively lost his mojo during his long years stateside." The review also states that the picture may however disappoint those simply looking for a costume retread of his kinetic 80s action films, such as Heroes Shed No Tears and A Better Tomorrow.
The Korea Times writes: "Finally, Asian cinema sees the birth of a movie with the grandeur – in both budget and inspiration – of epic franchises like The Lord of the Rings." "Hefty action sequences are knit together with delightful detail, including poetic animal imagery. While the Asian-ness of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon caters to a Western audience, Red Cliff captures the heart and soul of the Asian philosophy with a more universal appeal." One of South Korea's main English-language newspapers JoongAng Daily raves about the film by stating "the historical China film lived up to its expectations in more ways than one."
The Japan Times gave the film a high praise and states "Red Cliff brings all that and more to the screen – a whopping two and a half hours of frenzied action, feverish passion and elegantly choreographed battle scenes ..." and listed the film at the end of the year as one of the best international (non-Japanese) films of 2008.
The Malaysian national newspaper New Straits Times also gave the film an enthusiastic review, and states: "The first film is breathtaking in its grandeur, with awe-inspiring battle scenes." The review also praised the film's 'impressive' cinematography and noted that "the characters are all well fleshed-out, complete with individual quirks and mannerisms." Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien Daily remarked: "Red Cliff's action is epic. Drawing from actual battle tactics from 1,800 years ago, Woo proves that after all these years he still has the ability to make the action fresh and one-of-a-kind by blending grace with violence in a whole new genre. Lovers of Asian cinema can rejoice, John Woo is back."
