User reviews

It recently came to Netflix, so I figure more US audience would be watching the movie, then I see so many reviews saying it's bad because it's propaganda. Thanks for showing how double standard works guys. It's not the best movie, but it's fun, thrilling to watch, based on real event and reasonablly realistic, so I give it an 8. On the other hand, If it is pure propaganda, I'm glad to know that when things go down, Chinese government get stuff done, fast.

Dante Lam .. I think it has been too long since I saw a movie of his. And watching this, I have to say, if he can do one thing right, it is the action sequences. No prisoners taken and all that. A lot of (CGI) blood and a lot of death. The stunt work here is amazing to say the least! The sound effects, the tension, the adrenalin ... everything is working just fine here.

There may be a little patriotism, but other than that ... also like with Wolf Warrior, it's not like we are not used to that from US/Hollywood output. So it is more or less the same, just in chinese. But the action actually is one might say better choreographed than the American counterpart ... or at least as good.

So if You want an non stop action with little story this movie is for You. Premise is simple special ops from China doing evacuation of their embassy in war torn country. Of course it's just the beginning of troubles for chinese commando unit. And movie is packed with shootouts, car chaces, tank battles, sniper duels and so on. Practicaly all the quite scenes between fighting are trimmed to bare minimum. And the action looks good, a lot of money went into special effects. There is a bit of propaganda in the movie fortunately on the level of American war movies. Be warned operation Red Sea is not for children some scenes are gory and too realistic. But if You are above 18 and want some good action movie give it a try.

Actually, most of the film is just above average, and the score would be like 7/10. However, the action sequences between Minute 100 and Minute 120 are incredibly brutal, realistic, bloody, traumatizing and unbearable, and are among the finest action scenes I've ever seen. Thus, I would give the film a 8.5/10 overall rating.

Similar to the Chris Nolan's "Dunkirk" and the action flick "Operation Mekong" in 2016, also directed by Dante Lam, this film "Operation Red Sea" sacrifices plot and character development for action, and fortunately it works. The cinematography, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects, action choreography, original score and production design are just speechless. The film borrows ideas from several Hollywood blockbusters, such as the moral debate in "Saving Private Ryan", the special force fights of "Black Hawk Down", the war scenes at "Hacksaw Ridge", the tank battles from "Patton" and most importantly "American Sniper"'s sniping sequences.

"Wolf Warrior 2" is popular in the summer vacation, and madly swept more than 5 billion.

But as long as you dare to say that it is not good at all, you will be besieged by brains, be greeted by your family, and even rise to an unpatriotic level.

Everything is afraid of comparison. The advent of "Operation of the Red Sea" makes "War Wolf 2" look quite ridiculous in comparison, just like the children of kindergarten have played with each other.

We would like to thank Director Lin Chaoxian, who proved how high Chinese military films can be, he improved our aesthetics, and he made us understand that War Wolf 2 is indeed not good enough.

This movie was actually better than I expected. Though not perfect, it provided a decent storyline and lots of action. It's definitely worth seeing at least once.

I see some of the more critical reviewers saying how it is just Chinese propaganda. I would argue it's not much different than most of our American movies that display sacrifice and heroism (such as films like Act of Valor).

Besides, the trivia section of this movie even states that this film was "a gift for the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, as well as the Communist Party's 19th National Congress." So what do you expect? And quite frankly, who cares if it's propaganda-like for the Chinese citizens?

Give this movie a shot. It is enjoyable and definitely worth seeing. you may be surprised how well the story moves along with multiple battle sequences. I also appreciated seeing another country's attempt at an action/military movie.

Similar to American made war movie in terms of action, equipment, tactics, but more realistic showing that enemy's capabilities and good guys getting hurt and shot! Some people say it's Chinese military propaganda, I'd say it's about the same level of s**t as u see American war movies. If only bad guys die so much more often than good guys, we wouldn't have so many wars. 🤔. A good change to see heroic action movies that don't speak English!

If you are interested in a fair war movie with tons of action, lots of interesting military equipment, and some gore, this is for you.

There is a pretty huge cast of characters, and since most wear drab clothing or military uniforms it is not always easy to keep them separate, but on the other hand you can just remember Chinese = Good and keep it straight.

The Chinese military is portrayed as high tech which I guess is fair, because this isn't their military as a whole but a small elite group. Special effects are quite good and some aspects of warfare are gotten right, which are often bungled by western war movies. For instance, a mortar attack is portrayed as the consuming terror that it is rather than a bunch of bloodless explosions.

The gore is pretty shocking when it occurs (limbs blown off, etc.) but it is also not focused on. I quite enjoyed it.

Who'd have thought that the first live-action SPEC OPS action movie with realistic effects work would be made by China (starring their Navy SPEC OPS "Sea Dragons")? I guess I was wrong to think that without a rating-system, Chinese movies wouldn't dare to show anything -- it turns out that they have no qualms about showing everything (without lingering over it like Hollywood gore porn, of course) if the movie/genre was right...

Featuring 5 main escalating missions/set-pieces -- which are always strongly grounded by detailed sniper tactics and expertly strung together with clear plot-points as well as characterizations -- all the usual Hollywood war/military movie "fat" (such as "character arcs", "grand narratives", "social justice" polemics, etc) has been trimmed off, so that military enthusiasts can simply immerse themselves in the gritty and heart-pounding SPEC OPS action.

Just for its utter lack of pretension (to appear more "balanced", "diverse", profound", etc.) -- 10/10, would BANG again!

It's 2015 in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates have captured a Chinese merchant ship and the Chinese navy goes into action. A Chinese sniper is crippled while trying to arrest an escaping pirate. Reporter Xia Nan pursuing a terrorist and yellowcake uranium story is almost killed in a car bombing. After a coup in Yewaire, a naval task group and special forces are sent to evacuate civilians.

There are a few concepts combined in this Chinese movie. The best one is the Black Hawk Down military movie. They obviously invested a lot military hardware. It's a patriotic affair and proud of it. Morocco makes for a solid devastated city backdrop. There is plenty of big explosions. Other than a few Matrix bullet time fantasy scenes, it works quite well as a semi-real action packed thrill ride. The characters have no particular charisma or individuality. It's just action and military hardware. It's not high-minded, and I have no problem with that. The reporter's story is probably trying to inject some political nuance which is unnecessary. She's a good character but it would make more sense if she's a Chinese super spy Jane Bond. She could lead the soldiers with intel to rescue the civilians and take down a terrorist group. Overall, this is a functional action movie. The lack of a lead protagonist does hold it back some. More time early on spent on the Captain would help.

Movie is nice , story line , action , latest army equipment's all are superb but the actors who are in military they really don't seem to act like a military men .. over exaggerateing, suddenly shouting in normal situation , being very emotional at every other scene .. have u guys seen any real army men , They are polite , elegant, strong silent and admired not like in this movie ... ah shouting ah shouting ah screeming ah crying...

This movie is everything but boring. I couldn't sleep after watching it and keep thinking how lucky I am to live in a peaceful place. It 's a movie that make you want to stay millions of miles away from war, any war. American social media, as they always do, think China simply wants to show off its military power and poses a threat to the U.S.'s control of South Sea in this movie(where on earth they got this?I must have missed it in the movie!) , it is really not about China being this or that, as the 8 Chinese soldiers are not even allowed to carry any Chinese weapons to enter the war zone and all used weapons are provided by local government, it is about we should be thankful that we don't live in war zone. And we shall all be damned if a war ever came, especially the commoners like you and me.

Not really a film but more an action packed promo for the Chinese Navy! Based on a true story though, in real life, I don't believe the Chinese did any actual fighting, let alone fight against impossible odds. Perhaps it's better to say this film is loosely based on Black Hawk Down. I found it a bit amusing how they kept reiterating how uncomfortable they were going into other nations territorial waters while in real life the Chinese seem quite happy to rename these waters as their own. These days they're even building their own islands in international waters and then calling the surrounding seas their own too!

As a make believe action film I think it works, it's action packed and doesn't pull any punches. As a portrayal of a true story it's almost 99% fiction. As a statement of intent for the Chinese Navy I found it a little worrying. It will be "interesting" to see how the Chinese Navy live up to the film, I suspect they're going to get some real life practise in the coming years.

This is the Oscar submission from Hong Kong? Were there no other movies to choose from?

This is an utterly horrible film. The director, writer (was there one?), the acting all horrendous. The storyline ... um ... wasn't there. It felt like a group of sixth graders were given a lot of money to blow up their action figures.

Those who thought the movie was pure war scene should watch the Pacific, which also solely described the war scene in WW2. You could feel it, you could see it, you could witness the brutality, you could be shocked by the reality, that's filming. You wanna see superhero killing thousands of bad guys without injury but do not want to face the terrible war that is going on in the Middle East. Those who thought it was propaganda should comment the same under the American Captain and under the First Blood. Biased eyes could not see the fair world.

If you like this sort of movie, you will love this one: non-stop action, graphic bloodletting and many 'tough guy' moments as well as lots of armaments on display, ranging from a huge variety of small arms to tanks, drones, missiles, anti-missile 'Gatling guns', and helicopter gunships: all very cool and very loud. The grind-along soundtrack pumps up the action and the cinematography/CGI/stunts are all excellent. The plot follows a Chinese Navy special-ops team as they attempt a number of rescues in a fictional middle-eastern country (inspired by the 2005 rescue of Chinese nationals in Yeman). Mixed up in this is plucky reporter trying to find a MacGuffin containing information about 'yellowcake' that the terrorist plan to use in a dirty bomb. All of this is simply an excuse for loud and bloody mayhem. Like "Black Hawk Down", the film focuses on the comradery of the 'men (and women) on the ground', and if it doesn't scare you off, may make you want to sign up for a stint. The final scene, almost a cinematic ultimatum, is pure jingoism.

The film is adapted from the real events of Yemeni emigration. From the beginning of the evacuation of overseas Chinese, hijacking accidents, the Jiaolong team accepted the task and completed the task, all the way to the end. There was no particularly sensational dialogue and drama, and all kinds of weapons and artillery were fired directly. Some scenes are really bloody, which really makes people feel the cruelty of war and the precious of peace. Praise for China's special forces.

Basically everything i said and felt about operation mekong (same director) applies to this movie. the action was awesome, intense and large. so many great action scenes and moments. enough action in the first half to fill a whole movie. the music was awesome. some really great shots.

the reason i didn't give it a higher score is because i didn't really care about the characters or the details of the story. when the action wasn't happening i didn't care much. that's partly because of the language barrier, but also partly because there are a LOT of characters. so you don't become attached to any of them. there are still some scenes with good emotions, but half the time i didn't know who was who. also as much of an action junkie as i am, near the end it started becoming too much. i got action fatigue. it was a little too long and didn't was a bit anti-climactic with a long end scene after the climax

lots of realism in the action with some great gore scenes. lots of moments that subvert expectations. this was a well made movie... for the most part. i probably wouldn't watch it again (1 viewing)

"Operation Red Sea " is a remarkable film. It describes the war scene by a realistic approach, that many people feel too bloody after watching the movie. However, the modern war is so brutal that it can not escape the fate of the heroic sacrifice even if the cruelty of the war is masked. It is an ordinary person, after all, not a Hollywood superman. It reflects the Chinese national defense concept and the main duties and responsibilities of the military in peacetime now. Some people have questioned that the story of saving a few hostage at the expense of special troops' life is unreasonable, because it's not worth to that! In fact, these fans should not understand the movie. Whether in the movie or in reality, the military will do so. This is not only to safeguard people's lives and property, but also to defend the responsibility and honor of an army.

Remember, people: this is a story about an elite military unit trying to foil a dirty bomb plot during a different rescue mission, nothing more, nothing less. Given this story line and its clear focus on action, allow yourselves to be entertained. Its the bang-boom-bang movie of the year, which is why it's on track to become China's most successful movie export ever. Expect more of this with the trade war, as the ending clearly suggests that it's also intended as a line in the sand - pardon, sea - between China and the US of A.

My two cents on the most frequent criticism on this one: there's no story and pretty much constant action. As other people have pointed out: the reason why this movie is constant, uninterrupted mayhem is that warfare really is that crazy, as anyone can learn from a multitude of books, documentaries or (like yours truly) friends in the military. The situation in Yemen - for which the location is a thinly veiled stand-in - is so complex that one should feel grateful that there is no attempt whatsoever to put what happens into perspective, as so many Hollywood propaganda drivels do.

I didn't like the predecessor to this one, "Operation Mekong", because of its truckload of stereotypes about Thais and Burmese. "Operation Red Sea" is a huge improvement because it doesn't pretend to be anything more or less than an action flick with a bit of "China saves the day" on the side.

Operation Red Sea is a Chinese big budget patriotic action film that is inspired by the highly successful Operation Mekong released two years earlier but follows a different set of characters in a different location. The story takes place on the Arabian peninsula where a group of terrorists overthrows a weak government. The People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces are given order to evacuate Chinese personnel and workers from the country. They must save a hostage from a heavily guarded terrorist stronghold. The group comes across an ambitious French-Chinese journalist who reveals that the terrorists plan to weaponize yellowcake materials into a dirty bomb. The military personnel must now save the hostage, protect the journalist and prevent the yellowcake materials to be delivered to the terrorists.

This stunning movie convinces on numerous levels. The story isn't particularly imaginative but already more elaborate than similar American movies and comes around with a few interesting events and turns. The characters are attaching, diversified and unique as viewers will care about their fates. The realistic locations have been perfectly chosen and offer much diversity. The action scenes are among the most spectacular ones ever created. Especially the bloody showdown in the terrorist stronghold is absolutely breathtaking. The special effects are employed with care as the movie has a realistic touch. Despite a length of nearly two hours and a half, this film never gets boring and convinces from start to finish. Even the deleted scenes adding more information about the lead characters are sympathetic and could have been included in the original movie without making things redundant at all. While many similar Chinese movies are a little bit too patriotic, this one here focuses on the story, locations and characters which makes it more diversified.

If you like action movies, you should definitely watch Operation Red Sea that offers some of the very best fight scenes ever created in the history of cinema. As if this weren't enough, the movie convinces with an above average story, sympathetic characters and gripping tension that will keep you hooked for nearly two and a half hours. While American cinema led the world with action franchises such as Rambo four decades ago, the best action franchises these days seem to come from China and deserve more international attention and acclaim.

Why don't some American admit that they are brain controlled by their ridiculous government and media? These Americans always choose to be blind when they are betrayed or abandoned by their government. So sad and pathetic... The reason that they think this film is a propaganda is because American hero movies are all propagandas. What a pathetic reality. China is stronger and stronger. Get back your prejudice and wait to be surpassed....

Overtly nationalistic military propaganda film if I've ever seen one. Similar to ones produced by others such as in the old Germany; Soviet/Russia; US, and so on. If you want to see an exaggerated version of your own country's image creation propaganda this film is the model. Film location is not a real country, but harkens back to a hostage situation in Yemen several years ago where Chinese warships evacuated Chinese and other nationalities. Anyway, it's basically two plus hours of one fire fight after another with no weapon left out. Drones, helicopters, warships, snipers, tanks and more. The terrorist bad guys are portrayed as really bad in counterpoint to the angelic Chinese. Now if only China would fight equally hard to give democracy a chance. Even the closing credits had a message addressed to Chinese nationals living in any country to call the listed Chinese Foreign Service numbers if they feel in danger. Watch out Canada & Iceland & New Zealand, etc.