"A Battle of Wits" is a historical spectacle that Hollywood used to turn out with what now seems to be amazing frequency during the Big Studio era. The scene when the Andy Lau character Ge Li approaches the Liang city gate on foot in a hooded robe reminds me of another movie scene, Robert Taylor as Ivanhoe approaching on horseback the keep where his father is held prisoner, with Ivanhoe wearing a hooded monk's robe. One movie review described Lau as being the first metrosexual, based on his appearance, but Taylor's Ivanhoe character also sports a stylish goatee. Ivanhoe also has scenes of siege warfare, but is nowhere near as grim as "A Battle of Wits."
--SPOILER ALERT-- The only character who seems remotely normal in this Asian co-production is the Zhao slave whom Ge Li rescues. At one point, this slave tells Ge Li that the only way to end the fighting and bloodshed is if China is unified, instead of having seven feuding kingdoms. That statement is meant to appease the Beijing political censors. The Mozi Ge Li is a comic book figure like Superman, totally unreal. The drunken, vicious King, told that his son and only heir died after a bungled attempt to kill Ge Li, lets the General responsible live temporarily. The Commander of the Zhao forces lets himself be burned alive after ordering his troops to leave Liang. After the battles, the city itself is a wreck, parts burned down, others demolished, many of its citizens dead, some executed on orders of the paranoid King. Liang's army leadership ends up wiped out.
The production values, especially the art direction, are world class in this movie. From the carved designs on the pillars in front of the city entrance to the costumes (including even classy looking rectangular shields) to the cinematography, the crafts people who worked on this picture did a great job. Whatever the cost of the movie, whether the $16 million quoted on a website or more, all the money spent shows up on the screen.
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