THE GREAT REVIVAL is a lively retelling of early 20th century China, a tumultuous period where the old ways and the new ways collided and many factions seemed to continually war with each other in a bid for power. It's a complex and sometimes epic-feeling production, so I'm surprised to see it rated so low here on the IMDb.
I suspect the reason is that it's a blatant piece of propaganda, with Mao Zedong portrayed as a crusading hero; the story stops before the later troubles that surrounded his career. Now, I'm not bothered by watching propaganda films; I've seen plenty of North Korean efforts and, let's be honest, America makes their own share of flag-waving guff. Propaganda alone isn't a reason to rate a film down.
THE GREAT REVIVAL isn't a perfect film and anybody trying to keep track of all the main characters will soon be scratching their heads in puzzlement. Still, it's an expansive and expensive-looking production, and it's never boring even if some of the material seems extraneous or glossed over too quickly. The stuff with the students riots is particularly watchable, and spotting all of the familiar faces from Chow Yun-Fat to Daniel Wu, Fan Bingbing, Andy Lau, Simon Yam, and even John Woo, is a delight in itself.
