It took me altogether too long before I realized that "Red Corner" is really nothing more than a shameless Richard Gere-inspired effort to propagandize the human rights failings of the Chinese legal system. Somehow, I got caught up in the plot, the love story, and the compelling nature of the movie, and didn't realize that I was being preached at.
Therein lies the confusion that surrounds "Red Corner."
So controversial that the lead actress, a Chinese native, faces possible retaliation from her government back home, this film creates an interesting line between op-ed film and drama.
It could've been awesome either way, but chose that always frustrating, never satisfying middle road that makes WWII-era cinema, in retrospect, so (with a few notable exceptions) consistently and insipidly annoying.
Grade: C