---
title: "The Battle at Lake Changjin"
year: 2021
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-battle-at-lake-changjin"
fi1m_id: "the-battle-at-lake-changjin"
imdb_id: "tt13462900"
tmdb_id: 779029
wikidata_id: "Q107273994"
fi1m_score: 36
critics_score: 32
critics_reviews: 4
published: "2026-10-05T15:52:55.876995+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-05T15:53:13.353685+00:00"
region: "FI"
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 (2021)

Directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam Chiu-yin · 2h 58m · Drama, War

## Identity

The Battle at Lake Changjin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-battle-at-lake-changjin
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-battle-at-lake-changjin
- **IMDb ID:** tt13462900
- **TMDB ID:** 779029
- **Wikidata ID:** Q107273994
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13462900/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/779029, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107273994

**Fi1m score: 36** · Critics 32 (early) from 4 reviews

*In a sentence:* Nearly three hours, and the battles are still doing all the acting

> Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam Chiu-yin stage forceful battles, but the patriotic insistence wears down the drama. At 178 minutes, this is a poor war film with too little interest in its soldiers as people.

## Synopsis

Wu Qianli (Wu Jing), Wu Wanli (Jackson Yee) and Tan Ziwei (Duan Yihong) feature in an account of the Battle at Lake Changjin. Alongside them are Mei Sheng (Zhu Yawen), Yu Congrong (Jerry Lee) and Lei Jusheng (Hu Jun). The military figures include Colonel Allan MacLean (Kevin Lee), General O.P. Smith (John F. Cruz) and General Douglas MacArthur (James Filbird). Large-scale battles place the ensemble within a story of military conflict and patriotic duty. Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam Chiu-yin direct the war drama.

## Review

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* wants the size of its battles to tell us how much its soldiers deserve our gratitude. Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam Chiu-yin direct, and their commitment to large-scale combat supplies the film with its strongest passages. It is a poor war drama, however, because so little of that effort goes into making the soldiers interesting. The patriotic message is clear almost to the exclusion of everything else. At 178 minutes, the shortage of dramatic interest becomes a serious test of patience.

Huang Jianxin and Lan Xiaolong’s screenplay gives the cast too few opportunities to complicate that message. Wu Jing plays Wu Qianli, Jackson Yee plays Wu Wanli, and Duan Yihong plays Tan Ziwei, but the writing does little to distinguish the men beyond their participation in the fighting. We felt little for them, because their courage is insisted upon while their personalities remain thin. There is effort in the performances, and the actors deserve better material. The script keeps returning to patriotic duty when an awkward, individual response would make these people easier to care about.

Tiger Gao, Kenny Tse and Peter Pau share the cinematography credit with Horace Wong Wing-Hang, Ding Yu and Luo Pan. The battle photography conveys the scale of the fighting, and the action has enough force to hold our attention on its own. These passages give the film an excitement that the surrounding drama seldom manages. The computer-generated effects are less reliable, sometimes making the danger look unconvincing. That unevenness matters in a film which asks the physical impact of combat to provide so much of the reason to keep watching.

The editing never makes the long running time feel necessary. There is plenty of activity, but the battles do not produce enough dramatic momentum to carry us through the thinly written material between them. Elliot Leung and Wang Zhiyi supply the music, which cannot give these characters the emotional weight the screenplay has failed to establish. After a while, the film’s repeated insistence on how much we should care becomes wearying in itself. The action can still regain our attention, but it has to keep doing the work that the dialogue and performances should share.

Patriotism is hardly an unusual starting point for a war film, and taking a side need not prevent good drama. The difficulty here is the lack of room for anything that might disturb the approved view of its soldiers. Their fears and failings could have made their courage more persuasive without requiring a different allegiance. Instead, the simplistic treatment makes the film predictable even when the action is busy. There is little uncertainty about how we are supposed to regard anyone, which limits what even the more accomplished battles can achieve.

Anyone coming chiefly for the combat will find passages worth their attention, and it would be unfair to dismiss the skill involved in staging them. The film’s failings are frustrating precisely because that skill is present, alongside a cast given too little worth playing. A shorter running time would help, although it would not solve the thin characterisation or the relentless instruction in what to feel. Unless battle staging is enough to sustain an evening, we would choose something else.

*Fi1m score 36, published 5 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is The Battle at Lake Changjin worth watching?**

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* is difficult to recommend beyond an audience chiefly interested in large-scale combat; we score it 36 out of 100. The forceful battle staging supplies its strongest passages, but thin characters and relentless patriotic instruction make the 178-minute running time a test of patience.

**How long is The Battle at Lake Changjin, and what is it rated?**

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* runs 2h 58m. It is a drama and war film.

**Where can I watch The Battle at Lake Changjin in Finland?**

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* is not on any streaming or rental service in Finland at the moment. It is available in 10 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, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* contains forceful, large-scale combat, and we would not recommend it for children or viewers sensitive to war violence. No UK or US certificate is supplied, so we cannot offer an age-rating guide; the review establishes the intensity of the fighting but does not specify gore or other adult content.

**How does The Battle at Lake Changjin compare to The Cranes Are Flying?**

*The Battle at Lake Changjin* offers large-scale combat, but we recommend [*The Cranes Are Flying*](https://film.one/film/the-cranes-are-flying) as the better war drama for its attention to personal grief. The former struggles to make its soldiers distinct, while the latter makes Veronika’s unhappiness painfully specific, despite symbolism that sometimes presses too hard.

### Reviews we read (4)

- **The Guardian**, Phil Hoad (30/100, inferred): Hoad finds the film jingoistic propaganda with little story, despite moments of excitement. He singles out the accomplished action filmmaking for praise, but says it cannot overcome the film’s belligerent messaging and historically dubious account. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/19/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-review)
- **Variety**, Richard Kuipers (30/100, inferred): Kuipers finds the film a patriotic but dramatically lukewarm spectacle that never achieves its intended grandeur. He praises several impressive battle sequences, while faulting the weak emotional center and wobbly CGI. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-review-zhang-jin-hu-1235143157/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Elizabeth Kerr (25/100, inferred): Kerr finds the film more interested in propagandist myth-making than history, with little story or emotional connection. She praises the high production values and a few visually striking battle sequences, despite criticizing the film’s muddled execution. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-review-1235046896/)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy (50/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film a lavish, oversized spectacle that serves an overtly nationalistic political message, while noting its simplistic and predictable approach. He praises the scale and impact of the combat scenes, especially on a large screen. [Read](https://deadline.com/2021/10/the-battle-at-lake-changjin-review-china-international-critics-line-1234856385/)

## Details

- **Director:** Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam Chiu-yin
- **Director:** Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam Chiu-yin
- **Screenplay:** Lan Xiaolong, Huang Jianxin
- **Cinematography:** Kenny Tse, Peter Pau, Tiger Gao, Horace Wong Wing-Hang, Ding Yu, Luo Pan
- **Music:** Elliot Leung, Wang Zhiyi
- **Producer:** Nansun Shi, Candy Leung, Jiang Defu
- **Cast:** Wu Jing as Wu Qianli; Jackson Yee as Wu Wanli; Duan Yihong as Tan Ziwei; Zhu Yawen as Mei Sheng; Kevin Lee as Colonel Allan MacLean; Jerry Lee as Yu Congrong; John F. Cruz as General O.P. Smith; Elvis Han Dongjun as Ping He
- **Runtime:** 2h 58m
- **First release (CN):** 30 September 2021
- **Genres:** Drama, War
- **Budget:** $200 million
- **Box office:** $903 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlTVsKHoC0

## Where to watch in Finland

Not streaming, renting or buying in Finland at the last check.

Also available in: BE, CA, CH, ES, FR, GB, HK, IE, JP, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *All Quiet on the Western Front* (1930): For soldiers whose fear and exhaustion matter more than patriotic speeches.
- *The Cranes Are Flying* (1957), Fi1m 87: For an account of war that makes personal grief painfully specific. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-cranes-are-flying.md)
- *The Hill* (1965): Military discipline becomes the danger, with no battlefield required to make it frightening.
- *Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War* (2004): A Korean War drama that gives its brothers more than patriotic duty.
- *Assembly* (2007): For large-scale combat with a stronger interest in what soldiers are owed.

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© 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