Reviews for this film from our members:
- Marco Albanese @ Stanze di Cinema [Italian]
- Excerpt: Il nuovo capolavoro di Wong Kar Wai non si limita però a mettere in scena la lotta fratricida tra le diverse scuole nella Hong Kong del dopoguerra, ma fa un deciso passo indietro, raccontando l’origine della diaspora cinese e l’età dell’oro del kung fu, negli anni ’30, prima dell’invasione giapponese.
- Mario Alegre @ Primera Hora [Spanish]
- [New – 1/23/14] | Dragan Antulov @ Draxblog VI [Croatian]
- José Arce @ LaButaca.net [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Preciosista biopic cinematográfico del legendario Ip Man a cargo de un Wong Kar-wai impecable en lo visual y tendente a la confusión en lo narrativo. Dos embriagadoras horas de artes marciales físicas, filosóficas y emocionales.
- Tim Brayton @ Antagony & Ecstasy
- Excerpt: The American version is beautiful and moody, and it is muddy in expression, but probably worth seeing anyway.
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Wong travels far afield from the typical biopic structure, creating a balletic martial arts film (choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping of “The Matrix) split into two by both history and the women in Ip Man’s life.
- [New – 1/23/14] | Carlos del Río @ El rincón de Carlos del Río [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Wong Kar-wai sería un gran director de cine si tuviera una mínima idea de contar historias. Pero no la tiene.
- Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: [W]e watch this version of The Grandmaster not for what it is but what might be.
- Susan Granger @ www.susangranger.com
- Excerpt: Somber, stylized and visually stunning
- Roderick Heath @ Ferdy on Films
- Excerpt: Undoubtedly, The Grandmaster might prove a frustrating experience for viewers expecting a traditionally structured story that delivers niceties of character development and careful explication: indeed, Wong’s original concept was just such a movie. But the finished film is a different, far more adventurous success, a bold, extraordinarily executed fusion of approaches that adds up to a genuinely great cinema experience.
- Travis Hopson @ Punch Drunk Critics
- Excerpt: From a visual standpoint, Kar-wai has outdone himself. But as a film that is meant to chronicle the life of Wing Chun master Ip Man it never quite measures up.
- Donald Levit @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Mathieu Li-Goyette @ Panorama-cinéma [French]
- Marty Mapes @ Movie Habit
- Excerpt: Martial arts, resonant themes, and lush visuals make a well-rounded package
- Piers Marchant @ Sweet Smell of Success
- Pat Mullen @ Cinemablographer
- Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: Tony Leung might be nominally be the star, but it’s Zhang Ziyi who is lovingly photographed here. In extreme close-ups, the stories are told between Leung’s eyes which seem to only know sadness, and Zhang’s beautifully curved lips.
- John Nesbit @ Old School Reviews
- Excerpt: impressionistic
- Jamie S. Rich @ DVD Talk
- Excerpt: There are gorgeous showdowns in both rain and snow, as well as several match-ups in a gilded brothel. Amidst all this are Wong Kar Wai’s usual ruminations on memory and fate and the failure of individuals to connect.
- Cole Smithey @ ColeSmithey.com
- Excerpt: Part biopic, action film, part romance novel, and part political diatribe, the film never forgets its purpose to entertain. The effect is elating.
- Josh Spiegel @ Sound on Sight
- Excerpt: The Grandmaster is an impressive feat of action filmmaking, a dexterous, deft, yet painful tale of one man’s journey into myth.
