DONGJI RESCUE (东极岛) (2025)

Genre: War/Drama
Director: Guan Hu, Fei Zhenxiang
Cast: Zhu Yilong, Wu Lei, Ni Ni, William Franklyn-Miller, Yang Haoyu, Chen Minghao, Ni Dahong
Runtime: 2 hr 13 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Encore Films and Golden Village
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 October 2025

Synopsis: Based on a true event, Dongji Rescue unveils a long-buried maritime massacre and honors an extraordinary act of civilian heroism that shook the world 83 years ago. In 1942, Japanese ship Lisbon Maru with British POWs was torpedoed. On Dongji Island, a group of Chinese fishermen risk everything to sail into the chaos. Driven by raw courage and deep humanity, they embark on a daring mission to rescue strangers from a foreign land—defying death, the enemy, and history itself.

Movie Review:

For most of us in this part of the world, the Lisbon Maru incident—on which Dongji Rescue is based—will sound only faintly familiar, if at all. It was a tragic episode during World War II, when a Japanese ship carrying British prisoners of war was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Zhoushan. In this new Chinese blockbuster, that little-known story is transformed into a sweeping, high-octane spectacle of courage and compassion at sea.

The movie helmed by Guan Hu and Fei Zhenxiang overwhelms the senses. The action is fast and furious, with explosions, water cannons, and wave-tossed chaos crashing across the screen in relentless succession. It’s the kind of sensory overload that doesn’t give you time to breathe. It may tire some viewers out, but that is perhaps the point. The filmmakers probably want audiences to feel the confusion and peril faced by the fishermen who risked everything to save strangers caught in wartime crossfire. The film doesn’t just depict the rescue—it throws you right into it.

No expense appears to have been spared. The production reportedly built a full-scale replica of the Lisbon Maru, and it shows. The ship’s cavernous hold, rust-streaked decks, and collapsing hull lend the movie a tangible weight that CGI alone could never replicate. Complementing it are fleets of wooden fishing boats painstakingly modelled after those from more than eighty years ago—each plank, oar, and net recreated with obsessive detail. When the story moves from claustrophobic ship interiors to open seas, the visual transition is breathtaking. There are plenty of CGI sequences of storm-lashed waters and explosions.

While much of Dongji Rescue is engineered for spectacle, it’s clear the movie also knows its audience. Female fans in particular may appreciate the near-constant display of leading men Zhu Yilong and Wu Lei in heroic, bare-chested form. Their toned physiques and balletic swimming scenes are unmistakably part of the draw—unabashed cinematic eye candy, perhaps gratuitous, yet undeniably effective.

The film truly hits its stride in the finale rescue sequence—a prolonged, pulse-pounding set piece that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Waves surge, the Lisbon Maru slowly crumbles, and men cling to life amid the roaring chaos. It’s a meticulously choreographed blend of war film and disaster movie. The tension never lets up, and by the time the final survivors are pulled from the sea, you may find yourself gripping the armrest just a little tighter.

Beneath the surface gloss, however, lies a clear ideological current. As a mainland Chinese production, Dongji Rescue inevitably frames the story through a lens of national pride, celebrating the bravery of ordinary fishermen who defied danger to rescue prisoners from foreign shores. There are moments when this patriotic fervour tilts toward propaganda, but for viewers who are familiar with this genre, one can easily feel the sincerity of the story’s admiration the fishermen’s heroism. However dramatised, their actions are emotionally stirring. It also helps that interviews with relatives of the prisoners of war and surviving fishermen show up during the end credits.

Ultimately, Dongji Rescue succeeds as a crowd-pleasing war drama and an immersive technical showcase, complete with a bombastic soundtrack. Its sheer scale and craftsmanship make it one of the most visually impressive maritime films in recent memory. The sensory barrage may be exhausting, but it’s hard not to be swept along by its conviction.

Movie Rating:

(Big, loud, and visually commanding, Dongji Rescue transforms real-life tragedy into a spectacle of survival and sacrifice—powered by the star wattage and physiques of lead actors Zhu Yilong and Wu Lei)

Review by John Li