The Battle of Lake Changjin entered the history books as the first Chinese film to achieve the extraordinary feat of topping the world's box office as a non-Hollywood production. This unprecedented commercial success was no accident—the production team, operating with substantial backing from the People's Republic of China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party, was apparently either aware or certain of its commercial prospects from the outset. So confident were they, in fact, that even during the production of the first film, the decision was made to shoot an instant sequel back-to-back with its predecessor. The result, The Battle of Lake Changjin II, also known as the The Battle of Water Gate Bridge arrived in cinemas a mere matter of months after the first film, timed strategically for Chinese New Year on 1 February 2022.
The original film reconstructed the Battle of Lake Changjin—or the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as it is known in American and Western sources—the pivotal engagement of the Korean War in which the Chinese People's Volunteer Army decisively defeated US-led UN forces in late 1950, preventing their North Korean ally from being overrun. The sequel continues this narrative thread, focusing on one of the engagements that took place in the conflict's late phase and serving as a direct continuation of the previous film's storyline.
We are once again introduced to the soldiers of the 7th Penetration Company, commanded by Wu Qianli (played by Wu Jing). Having defeated the US Marine 1st Division, they now find themselves part of the pursuing force. The Marines, under the command of General Smith (played by <John F. Cruz), are desperately attempting to secure a route towards Hungnam, the port from which UN forces are to be evacuated southwards. At the outset of this pursuit, Wu Qianli encounters an old friend, Commander Yang (played by Geng Le), whose artillery battalion is advancing in captured American lorries towing captured American cannons. This column is subsequently attacked and wrecked by US carrier-based aircraft, but Wu Qianli makes his friend a promise: he will bring him more guns. He keeps his word after his men participate in the assault on the US airfield at Hagaru-ri. Despite fierce combat and heavy casualties, the Chinese manage to overrun the airfield, seizing large caches of weapons and supplies and forcing Smith to evacuate at the last possible moment.
Song Shilun (played by Zhang Hanyu), deputy commander of the PVA, learns that the only viable route for the retreating Marines passes via the so-called Water Gate Bridge. The 7th Company is ordered to assist the 9th Company, which has been tasked with attempting to destroy it. Wu Qianli, despite having his unit decimated and having scarcely any rest, sets out to fulfil this mission. It soon becomes apparent that the bridge is heavily defended, and that the US Marine garrison holds superiority in almost every conceivable respect—numbers, weapons, equipment. The Chinese forces must also contend with unforgiving winter conditions. Nevertheless, Wu Qianli devises a plan of attack that leads to days of brutal fighting, a confrontation that claims the lives of all his soldiers with one exception: his younger brother Wu Wanli (played by Jackson Yee), who afterwards reports as the 7th Company's sole surviving soldier.
Many critics dismissed The Battle of Lake Changjin II as "The Battle of Lake Changjin: Deleted Scenes," viewing it as an exploitative use of material apparently left on the cutting room floor during the first film's production. This assessment, however, is somewhat unfair. The second film is actually slightly shorter and more focused than its predecessor. Rather than attempting to capture the grand scope of North Korea in late 1950, it concentrates on a much smaller engagement—one that nevertheless demonstrates the savage brutality of that conflict and the terrible price in blood Communist China paid for saving its ally.
This increased focus is evident throughout the film. Following the spectacular engagement at the airport, the narrative shifts to a nominally less spectacular but dramatically more intense fight for the bridge. This is where Tsui Hark, one of the three directors involved with the project, truly demonstrates his particular strengths—action sequences. Unburdened with the need to provide complicated historical and geopolitical exposition or to introduce an array of different characters, the film concentrates squarely on combat, and it generally delivers on this promise. The film presents an extremely brutal and bloody fight, complete with graphic details that include people being burned alive, crushed beneath moving tank tracks, or, should they survive enemy combat, forced to contend with debilitating frostbite.
Hark allows moments of irony to slip through the patriotic veneer. Things go badly for the Chinese, among other reasons, because they cannot read English and therefore use the wrong captured ammunition when engaging enemy tanks. Nevertheless, with abundant CGI, bullet time effects, and pyrotechnics, Hark demonstrates that he has taken inspiration from Western war films, and there is even a scene that serves as homage to the memorable moment near the end of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.
The film nevertheless must pay tribute to the propaganda requirements of its producers. Consequently, there are numerous scenes that drown in patriotic bathos, depicting Chinese soldiers expressing their loyalty to the motherland and their ruling Party with almost operatic fervour.
At the same time, the film attempts to portray the battle as a struggle between David and Goliath, with the Chinese clearly cast as underdogs forced to fend off an enemy that is better equipped, better fed, and holds absolute command of the air. The PVA is shown to rely on capturing enemy supplies rather than its own logistics, with soldiers using Colt M1911 pistols, M3 submachine guns, and even American-produced helmets. In a scene at the airport, a Chinese soldier notices wrecked helicopters and, commenting on this new piece of military technology, confidently declares that one day China would produce some of its own—a moment that resonates with contemporary audiences aware of China's subsequent military development.
Yet the film's most significant flaw lies in its rather unconvincing attempt to depict the aftermath of the actual engagement at the bridge—Smith and his Marines evacuating from Hungnam harbour—as an unquestionable Chinese victory. While the closing titles might suggest as much, those with some knowledge of Chinese history might harbour doubts. The Long March, that foundational myth of the People's Republic of China, is essentially the same achievement that Smith and his Marines accomplished at the end of this film—a strategic retreat to fight another day.
The Battle of Lake Changjin II is ultimately a derivative but solid work that, despite its heavy-handed propaganda, would probably satisfy most enthusiasts of war action films. It offers spectacle and intensity in abundance, even if it sacrifices historical nuance and narrative complexity in the process. For viewers seeking visceral combat sequences and patriotic heroism, it delivers adequately. For those hoping for a more balanced or historically rigorous examination of this pivotal moment in Cold War history, however, the film remains firmly within the realm of state-sponsored myth-making.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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