Ba yue yi ri

This film is set in 1927 and is mostly about the final split between the Communists and Kuomintang, who had been allied for several years against the older sort of warlord. It begins and ends with battle scenes, but is mostly about the politics and conspiracy between times.

The film fails to give the context, which non-Chinese viewers would be unlikely to know. That China's 1911 revolution had led to chaos and warlordism. That Sun Yatsen had formed an alliance with the Soviet Union and with China's small Communist Party. That the Northern Expedition, starting from the Kuomintang's southern base, was aimed at suppressing the warlords and also the rival national government in Beijing. That by 1927, Sun Yatsen was dead and Chiang Kai-Shek had rejected the Communist alliance and also failed to do anything about foreign control of the core of Shanghai and many other Chinese cities. A couple of minutes explaining this would have made the rest of the film a lot clearer.

I was also surprised that Sun Yatsen's widow wasn't shown. She played an important role as leader of those non-Communists who wanted to continue the alliance.

While it may lack the polished look of other Asian war movies such as Assembly or Brotherhood, Axis Of War still has its moments, bringing together the birth of the Peoples Liberation Army and the tragic civil war that happened in 1927...

Opening and closing with some very impressive war action, the story in-between focuses on the politics and brotherhood of its characters, and war leaders. Penned by no less than 5 people, Axis Of War is the first of an epic Chinese triliogy about the Communist Alliance's campaign of war against the country's warlords and barons. Testing of allegiance and nerves are pushed to breaking point as they work on the best course of action to take in starting their attack!

Hong Kong legends Ray Lui and Waise Lee join a prominently Chinese cast, with performances impressing throughout, and many dramatic moments off-and-on the battlefield. Axis Of War Part 1 may put some viewers off with its lack of action, but stick with it as it stills proves to be an entertaining movie. Even though it was made in 2010, it has an old, classic look to it - with some gorgeous cinematography - which actually works.

Another thing that may put viewers off is the overly melodramatic moments of the soldiers talking about, and sacrificing themselves for, their country. While many will cry about too much propaganda (in all 3 movies), I don't see that its any different to most US army movies where they wave their flag in dramatic slow motion and mow-down the enemy in heroic fashion as they scream Amer-cuuuhhh!!. While it may come across here that everyone is just so great in their actions and decisions, one must remember that its just a movie, and the approach to war movies from around the world doesn't always have to be as big, loud and brash as Hollywood makes them...

Axis Of War impresses not only in its war scenes and performances, but also in its vast number of extras. No CGI of numbers here - what you see is real, and it only gets bigger with each film!

Overall: While not perfect, Axis Of War is still worth the watch and the start of a great trilogy...