Heard this was decent, watched it and was instantly reminded why I hate Chinese cinema. Wish they wouldn't fuck up badass European history by making it ridiculous like Red Cliff. I liked the spear duels, but like everything in the film they just overdo it.
I haven't seen Red Cliff (going to look for it though). The reason it is overdone in that style, is because most people (who aren't warriors) can't actually see just how skilled someone really is. If you showed an absolutely AMAZING duel between 2 Chess players, the average person will be bored to tears, with little more than an understanding of who won. Its similar in melee fights in real life as well.
Someone who doesn't understand c-RPG mechanics wouldn't understand everything that goes into a 1 vs 1 duel either. They wouldn't understand anything really about feints, chambering, footwork, closing distance to cause glances, etc. Two guys would go in, swing a few times. One dies. Not really epic if you don't understand ALL of the nuances involved in becoming skilled.
So they have to exaggerate. We understand that people can't really jump 30 feet into the air, and so does the audience. But what you are meant to understand is that 30 foot jump by one guy, that other guys in the movie can't make, is the difference in skill levels.
