For all the money spent and pyrotechnics unleashed, this collectively directed and filmed movie about the glory of collective effort and suffering in attaining military success never attains the grandeur it strives for.

It's straight-up propaganda - almost comedically so at times.

No one in the high-profile cast, which... includes Zhang Hanyu, Oho Ou and Huang Xuan, gets much more than a sketch to work with, sapping the story of any real emotional connectivity.

A 175-minute war orgy that combines violence, epic absurdity and stale nationalism in the form of a solid propaganda film that does not try to hide its nature. [Full review in Spanish]