Rating of
3/4
Immersive but imperfect war epic
Indyfreak - wrote on 01/04/22
THE EIGHT HUNDRED is an impressively done war film. It boasts incredible action and some grisly imagery that show the horrors of war. The camerawork and direction during these battle scenes and close-combat fight scenes are intense and claustrophobic.
The production design for the 1930s setting looks great. It does boast a patriotic tone that is emotionally stirring (though the input of the CCP makes it questionable).
But then there's the cast which is enormous as is typical for a war epic like this. But almost all of them are interchangeable. They have names or nicknames but there is not much in the way of character development. It does play out like a docudrama when the fighting is not happening. There are people that do brave or badass things in the movie, but you wish you knew more about them.
As a drama with identifiable protagonists, it's a failure. But as an action-heavy experience, THE EIGHT HUNDRED remains exciting enough.
