The Great Battle (2018) User Reviews

Middle Earth battle in Asia

[Pille1992 · 8/10 · 20 February 2021]

The title exactly describes this movie: A great battle.

While watching, you definitely will be reminded of great battles scenes from Middle Earth (but obviously without mythical creatures) like Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith. Perhaps you also get a small feeling of being in Jerusalem during Kingdom's Heaven.

A charismatic cast of characters with somewhat unique personalities ( look out for the Gimli-Legolas friendship), a small defence army fighting a nearly hopeless fight against an overwhelming number of attackers, a plot which serves the needs of such a movie, an atmospheric score and - of course - great and diverse battle scenes with many bad dass moments.

Do not expect big history accuracy - but honestly I think this was also never attempted or wanted - and you should also not look for a historic depiction in such a movie.

Overall, a war movie worth watching if you know what to expect and if you sometimes just want to see spectacular fight scenes with a nice and easy to follow story in Asia.

Epic battle scenes

[okpilak · 8/10 · 3 January 2023]

Chinese Emperor Tang defeats a Korean army of 150,000, leaving only 10,000 survivors. The battle scene has horses in armor. In his way is the Ansi Fortress, defended by 4000 Koreans. The movie shows the battle in epic proportions, in a way that is seldom seen in movies. It is a Chinese period piece, and in checking out one historical website, the battle for the fortress unfolds basically as depicted in the movie. There is plenty of action, plenty of carnage, and the role of the Korean Commander, Poong, is very well cast. He comes across as a very brilliant tactician. There is a betrayal that adds interest to the movie at the right point. If one wants a movie with a lot of action and bloodshed, this movie will check all the boxes.

Great Battle indeed

[axldanna · 8/10 · 11 December 2020]

The battle scenes gives me goosebumps wow also nam joohyuk's acting is superb

Epic battle scenes!

[paulclaassen · 7/10 · 29 December 2018]

With stunning cinematography, awesome visuals and incredible photography during the epic battle scenes, what more could one ask for in a war movie? The battle scenes are quite spectacular.

South Korea once again showcases an excellent war film. In-sung Jo is very good as Commander Yang Man-chun, a caring and likable protagonist, who's main concern is the well-being of his people. The rest of the cast is very good, as well, and there's sweet moments between some of the characters, and also a nicely set-up romance. This is a top-notch production.

Good but not quite

[jamesshi99 · 7/10 · 7 April 2019]

The battle scenes were impressive and the storyline was easy to follow. This movie needed one more "push" to stand out from the rest.

The Great Battle

[0U · 13 February 2020]

This was a great find on Netflix. It reminded me of the battles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Helms Deep and Minas Tirith. It is subtitled but the story couldn't be easier to follow. Highly recommend it.

Superb Asian Old Battle

[RoshanHvt · 7/10 · 22 February 2021]

Absolutely treat to watch. good story line and awesome screen capturing. Amazing acting and superb story. Dramatic war and drama scenes. Great Korean battle..

South korean (A+ Movie) My Ratings 9/10

[THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA · 9/10 · 4 September 2021]

The Great Battle (2018 Korean movie streaming currently on Hi-Yah) is a gem of a picture got a very limited US release (at the same time as Venom). It is hard to find , but worth tracking down. This is the Korean version of 300 mixed with Braveheart. What it may lack in historical accuracy it makes up for in style and jaw dropping battles many of which rival the Two Towers

It is visually appealing, packed from top to bottom with action and combat, dressed in appealing costumes, and backed by a stirring soundtrack by Yoon Il-sang.

The Tang general clearly never played any of the Stronghold PC games...

[shaolinmasterkev · 7/10 · 23 July 2019]

The Tang general clearly never played any of the Stronghold PC games... Epic siege movie with some good thematic elements at play and interesting characters. The tang dynasty general used trebuchets for a day then quit, maybe he should of used those the entire time? I feel sad for the poor Tang invaders, they tried so hard!

Another Top of the Class Korean Film

[joestaats · 10/10 · 10 November 2018]

Korean film making does it so much better then Hollywood. The right amount of balance between tension, drama and war scenes. The scale of and interaction of the war scenes is where Asian film always outdoes Hollywood's efforts. The Graet Battle is a Great Korean War Film.

After a long wait

[bnessi · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

Finally another Great War movie after so long; worth the watch

Occupy

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 29 July 2020]

A movie that claims or has the title (at least internationally) of "Great Battle", does have quite something to prove. And while it starts off with a battle scene, that is not the one that is meant in the title. I reckon there are more than one battle scenes anyway.

The fighting choreography and the framing/camera work are beautiful! More than that some might argue actually. Story is quite easy to follow. A friend of mine compared it to Musa, which I think does a disservice to this rather than helping it. That's a bar and a comparison you don't need to make, just enjoy this for what it is. Characters are nicely drawn, even if the whole thing is more or less predictable. Visually stunning is enough for some, not even close to enough for others of course

Good if unremarkable

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 5 December 2021]

A solid if unremarkable Korean historical war epic about a single fortress holding out against a massive Tang Chinese invading force. THE GREAT BATTLE isn't particularly fresh or original as a movie, often nodding back to Hollywood oldies like LORD OF THE RINGS and 300, but at the same time it proves entertaining throughout with only a few slow spots in between the pitched battles. There are no big name actors or performances here, but the film goes for the visual approach, with a lot of CGI-augmented large-scale fights and some creative moments during the siege. It's well-shot and violent, too, so if you like the genre you'll like this one too well enough.

Not Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 4/10 · 13 February 2019]

The great battle, as the name suggests, is preparing the viewer for an epic battle. And there was one. However, the only thing worth watching was that. The script was lacking everything, from story to emotion. It was like the story line was just a few events that bridged the time between the begining and the battle. The characters were not explored properly either and they were just great warriors defending their ground. The small romance and frienship scenes here and there were not developed either. At least the fighting scenes were good and the battle was cleverly arranged. Plus, the performances were okay.

Lost after 10 minutes.

[franka_van_loon · 11 February 2019]

This movie start with a narrated part. The narrator tell you who is Wu, that Mi is not Yu and Yu is not Wu. Then what tribe Wu, Mi and Yu are part of and the names what tribe they from,and why they all are in war with each other. The movie starts wow with a big battle half the population of China, and I have no clue who is Wu, who is YU is Mi also in the battle. After 15 minutes I lost concentration not able too coop with all those strange and impossible names that I am not able to pronounce or remember. It may be a movie with beautiful pictures but watching a 2 hour movie and no clue what it is about, no thnx.

WORTH THE BATTLE

[MadamWarden · 7/10 · 6 December 2019]

This is a typical Asian war epic. Heroic characters, fantastic battle scenes and great looking cast.

Watch and enjoy!

Goguryeo Strong!

[jaysewell77 · 7/10 · 9 February 2019]

To be honesty I went into this movie not expecting much, I'm glad to say that I was very wrong. This is an epic battle of shear will and determination for the people of Goguryeo, and how to always stand up to Tyranny. The Commander's strategy was second to none, great Korean War movie!

It's Fine

[joylacsonsantos · 7/10 · 6 August 2023]

I'm a fan of historical Korean films, but it took me a while to watch this one because it's not available in Prime Video for Philippines.

Having its ties with Jumong, my all-time favourite, set incredibly high standards for the film. In my opinion, Jumong series stands as a remarkable masterpiece in the Korean entertainment industry.

However, The Great War didn't manage to inspire the same level of thrill and amazement. The battle scenes were, indeed, engaging and compelling from start to end, confirming it as an enjoyable watch and definite entertainment.

Although, if one attempts to match this to the epic loftiness of the Jumong series, they might find it falling short.

Epic

[harmenkampinga · 9/10 · 22 July 2021]

Just that... epic!

Beautiful movie, great story, well done.

Breathtaking Battle Scenes

[Bonz99 · 8/10 · 24 April 2019]

Giving this an '8', although parts of the film were definitely a '10'. Early in the film, I was confused by who was who, and which side was which. Possibly this is not an issue for Korean viewers, as it is part of their history.

Non-Asian speakers have to keep glued to the subtitles, which is not a huge big deal but can occasionally distract you from the characters. Acting is quite good; you really come to have great respect for the defenders of Ansi.

Estimated budget was $15 million; if done in Hollywood, would have been closer to $200 million. Outstanding battle scenes!

War of wills

[wjosephjorob · 8/10 · 1 November 2018]

A very well made film about war and determination, very impressive cast and the scenes of battle were staged nicely, the camera angles at times were a little off during some fight scenes, but an overall satisfying historical film for lovers of battle strategies.

looks cheap and unrealistic

[tlxatwork · 1/10 · 1 August 2019]

This is more a fantasy film then a historical war movie and in many ways unlogical. There are to many computer effects which also looks very cheap. The costumes, armour, city walls all looks like fake.

In fact this was not a war Chinese against Koreans. This was a war between 3 Korean states: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. China comes to Korea to protect Silla, another Korean Kingdom and the historical predecessor of todays South Korea. Goguryeo is like North Korea.

Historical inaccurate:

• In reality at the siege of Ansi Fortress, the Chinese side only have 30 000 men and not 200 000.
• Chinese wear clothes from the Han Dynasty, but the story is set in the Tang Dynasty more then 400 years later.
• The crossbow is a Chinese invention, why only Koreans use them ?
• Some bags of oil which can destroy a whole siege tower? laughful
• Chinese needs 2 months to build a artificial mountain and the Koreans only need a day to destroy it?

Conclusion: If you treat this film as fantasy you can watch it, but otherwise you will deeply disappointed. I really don't know why this film have a 7 star rating, it only deserves 3.

One of the best defense films of a walled city

[bcnkor · 10/10 · 26 December 2021]

Great script, and a great set-up by the director in defense of a walled city. A great super production showing us all the potential of the new Korean cinema.

History repeats itself ~ Ukraine fighting against all odds

[bessiewong · 8/10 · 21 April 2022]

The movie reminds of the current Ukraine and the commander as President Zelensky and the folks as Ukraine citizens, all united to fighting to protect what you cherish even that will mean loss of lives. Best line: you don't only fight a battle that you can win. T.

Great War strategy movie!

[zahraallive · 10/10 · 7 October 2018]

This movie shows who is the real leader and the arts of war. It boosts moral and encourages people!!

Great Korean War movie!