Full River Red

With a twist-packed plot to match its labyrinthine location, Zhang’s fast-paced film motors along nicely as an engaging “Knives Out”-style whodunnit before stumbling a little in the protracted final act.

A few snappy comedy routines and a perpetually escalating mystery plot ensure that Zhang’s latest never slows down nor retraces its steps long enough to feel monotonous.

The knives are out and then some in “Full River Red,” a murkily entertaining exercise in twist-twist-stab-stab from the Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

The lighthearted tone poking through keeps it afloat, and suspends the viewer in mostly carefree entertainment for its two-and-a-half-hour running time.

That Zhang Yimou continues to not only survive but thrive, despite decades of falling in and out of favor with power, is as much a wonder as any of the images he captures on film.

More corny than enthralling, and constantly overacted, Full River Red fails to emotionally invest the audience in the narrative.

Though largely entertaining, it drags at times.

The comedy is cheeky and sometimes silly, but it works because of the right tone set by the energetic direction and the cast members' performances. It's not always easy to have jokes in a violent spy movie, but Full River Red accomplishes that intention.

Given its emphasis on dialogue-driven plot, it’s amazing how exciting Zhang manages to make the film...a fanciful tale of conspiracy and betrayal as labyrinthine as the huge fortress in which the entire plot is set.

Longtime fans of one of China’s greatest living filmmakers won’t want to miss this one. It isn’t every day that Zhang Yimou jokes around. You’ll want to be there for every bloody punchline.