I personally enjoyed this movie a lot. It's rapid-paced, intense and quite entertaining. I've also read that some of the action sequences are actually coming from real Chinese special force members who invented them and put them in use in reality. It's also a milestone in Chinese movie genres. Chinese movie is famous for action genres but this one is the first hybrid of genres of action and military. And it's not tradition Chinese martial arts which is mainly for the purpose of performance and exercise, not practical combat. The actions in this movie are a reflection of, but a little glorified, modern military combat. However, I'd say the directing is the biggest weakness of the movie. It's understandable, because the main protagonist directed the movie himself. He admitted in an interview that he really didn't want to direct the movie because he was not a professional director. He was just an martial arts actor. But he spent a lot time and efforts trying to find some professional directors to direct this movie and investors to invest but in vain because no one thinks this genre would be popular. He had to do everything by himself and invest in the movie out of his own pocket. So the movie took 7 years to make. It turned out to be great success at the Chinese box office. If there were professional people helping him refine the plot as well as directing the movie from the beginning, this movie could've been a lot better. Given all these reasons, I gave it an 8 out of 10.
On a side note, by looking at some of the reviews here, I am amazed by how many people have ridiculous double standards. When it comes to a Chinese military movie, it is just Chinese propaganda so it's lame, untrustworthy and worthless. But when it is Black hawk down or American Sniper or any American patriot movies, it heroic, righteous and meaningful even if the movie is about a western country engaging in a war that causes many civilians to die on other nation's soil. In contrary, China, no matter how bad it is portrayed in western movies, it never incurs any war in other countries. Chinese army is built to protect its people from invaders, not to invade. It's funny that how many westerners are brainwashed by their biased media and "propaganda". The world is big and every story has two sides. People should get out of their home and take a look at the outside world. Only by this way can a person form a more objective, mature outlook of things, especially when it comes to political affairs. I believe I am entitled to say this because I myself has 10+ yrs living experiences in both China and USA and I know how media are manipulated and twisted in both countries. Now I don't fully trust either source solely. Rather, they complement each other pretty well to give you a quite clear picture about what is the truth about everything and how media only serve the interest of their own country, even though at the expense of sacrificing objectivity and authenticity.
