--- title: "The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge" year: 2022 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii-water-gate-bridge" fi1m_id: "the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii-water-gate-bridge" imdb_id: "tt16194408" tmdb_id: 928123 wikidata_id: "Q110795632" fi1m_score: 39 critics_reviews: 1 published: "2026-10-05T16:16:51.894321+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T16:17:23.421048+00:00" region: "PL" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge (2022) Directed by Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige, Dante Lam Chiu-yin · 2h 29m · War, History, Action ## Identity The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii-water-gate-bridge - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii-water-gate-bridge - **IMDb ID:** tt16194408 - **TMDB ID:** 928123 - **Wikidata ID:** Q110795632 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16194408/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/928123, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110795632 **Fi1m score: 39** · Critics: 1 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* MacArthur gets to be a cartoon while everyone else has to stand to attention > At 149 minutes, this war film wears down our patience with solemnity and stiff dialogue. Its ambition is evident, but the occasional burst of comic exaggeration cannot make it worth the slog. ## Synopsis Wu Jing plays Wu Qianli, Jackson Yee plays Wu Wanli and Zhu Yawen plays Mei Sheng in this historical war film. The ensemble includes Yu Congrong (Jerry Lee), Ping He (Elvis Han Dongjun) and Song Shilun (Zhang Hanyu), with Geng Le as Battalion Commander Yang and Du Chun as Battalion Commander Zhang. Duan Yihong plays Tan Ziwei, Hu Jun plays Lei Jusheng and Wang Likun plays Mei Sheng’s Wife. Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam Chiu-yin direct the 149-minute film. ## Review *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* is a poor war film with enough ambition to make its failures frustrating. The directing credits name Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam Chiu-yin, and the shared aim seems clear: to treat military endeavour with unbroken seriousness. There is nothing wrong with that starting point. The trouble is that the film makes reverence compulsory, leaving little room for people, and 149 minutes is a long time to spend being asked to pay our respects. Wu Jing plays Wu Qianli, Jackson Yee plays Wu Wanli and Zhu Yawen plays Mei Sheng. The commitment of the performers is welcome, but the writing by Lan Xiaolong and Huang Jianxin allows earnestness to do too much of the work of character. Belief in a cause can make a soldier interesting; it cannot supply every detail of a personality. We wanted more awkwardness, more disagreement, or simply a conversation whose purpose was not to reinforce the film’s already settled position. Elliot Leung’s music has to work within that narrow emotional range, and it does little to widen it. There is plenty of weight here, but too little variation in what we are being asked to feel. The same limitation affects the film’s scale: ambition is visible, yet the effort to make everything matter leaves too few moments that can be taken casually. A war film needs those smaller passages if we are to care about its soldiers between the fighting. The MacArthur scenes are a welcome exception, allowing a cartoonish note to interrupt the solemnity. We laughed at that exaggeration, and felt relieved to be allowed a less dutiful response. The broadness is enjoyable because it changes the mood, even if it is hardly subtle characterisation. The English dialogue is much less successful: its stiffness keeps drawing attention to the lines themselves, and the humour cannot make every awkward exchange feel intentional. The length makes these weaknesses harder to overlook. At 149 minutes, the film needs more than conviction to keep each stretch from feeling emotionally similar to the last. The cutting should have been tougher about how often we need to be told to take this seriously. War films can honour service while making room for fear, vanity, boredom or a bad joke; here the wish to remain respectful so often wins that the drama struggles to get started. Viewers who want a reverent military spectacle may be willing to accept those limits, and it would be unfair to dismiss the seriousness of the effort. Our patience ran out with the stiff dialogue and the constant solemnity, not with the subject. The flashes of humour suggest how much a little freedom might have helped. We would choose something that gives its soldiers permission to be ordinary for a while. *Fi1m score 39, published 5 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge worth watching?** *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* is difficult to recommend; we score it 39/100 for its stiff dialogue, thin characterisation and relentless solemnity. Committed performances and occasional comic exaggeration offer some relief, but its 149 minutes chiefly suit viewers willing to accept those weaknesses for a reverent military spectacle. **How long is The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge, and what is it rated?** *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* runs 2h 29m. It is a war and history film. **Where can I watch The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge in Poland?** *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* is not on any streaming or rental service in Poland at the moment. It is available in 4 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge, and is it suitable for children?** *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* carries a UK 15 certificate, making it unsuitable for children under 15. The certificate indicates material intended for older teenagers and adults, but we cannot give a more precise account of violence or frightening imagery from the fighting noted in our review. **How does The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge compare to The Ascent?** *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge* is the weaker choice beside [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent), which we recommend for its exacting treatment of conscience under wartime pressure. Where *Water Gate Bridge* insists on reverence and patriotic certainty, *The Ascent* follows two partisans through snow, exhaustion and morally difficult choices; it is gruelling viewing, not a gentler alternative. **What should I watch after The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge?** After *The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge*, try [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) (1977, Fi1m 88): Snow, exhaustion and choices that no amount of patriotic certainty can simplify. Then [*Paths of Glory*](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory) (1957, Fi1m 93): Military authority receives the scrutiny that solemn speeches too often let it escape. ### Reviews we read (1) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (30/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the war epic bloated and constrained by officially sanctioned earnestness, despite its ambition. He singles out the cartoony scenes involving MacArthur as enjoyable, while criticizing the wooden English dialogue. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/dec/20/the-battle-at-water-gate-bridge-review-china-war-epic-tsui-hark) ## Details - **Director:** Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige, Dante Lam Chiu-yin - **Director:** Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige, Dante Lam Chiu-yin - **Writer:** Lan Xiaolong, Huang Jianxin - **Music:** Elliot Leung - **Producer:** Chen Kaige, Dante Lam Chiu-yin, Chen Hong - **Cast:** Wu Jing as Wu Qianli; Jackson Yee as Wu Wanli; Zhu Yawen as Mei Sheng; Jerry Lee as Yu Congrong; Elvis Han Dongjun as Ping He; Zhang Hanyu as Song Shilun; Geng Le as Battalion Commander Yang; Du Chun as Battalion Commander Zhang - **Runtime:** 2h 29m - **First release (CN):** 1 February 2022 - **Genres:** War, History, Action - **Budget:** $200 million - **Box office:** $626 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOxJ76KW_8g ## Where to watch in Poland Not streaming, renting or buying in Poland at the last check. Also available in: ES, GB, HK, IE. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Assembly* (2007): A soldier’s duty becomes harder to separate from the cost of obedience. - *The Front Line* (2011): A contested hill gives military repetition a purpose beyond another explosion. - *The Ascent* (1977), Fi1m 88: Snow, exhaustion and choices that no amount of patriotic certainty can simplify. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ascent.md) - *The Steel Helmet* (1951): A smaller Korean War film with more room for awkward human contradictions. - *Paths of Glory* (1957), Fi1m 93: Military authority receives the scrutiny that solemn speeches too often let it escape. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-ii-water-gate-bridge