What Chungking Express has are a couple of interesting situations, which don't quite justify a feature-length movie.

| Apr 10, 2018

I've never been a big fan of technique that calls attention to itself, but Wong's frenetic blend of slow motion, pixilation, rushing backgrounds and frozen foregrounds (or vice versa) is as integral to this movie as its bubbly story and characters.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 28, 2014

[Wong's] hypnotic images of love and loss finally wear down your resistance as seemingly discordant sights and sounds coalesce into a radiant, crazy quilt.

| May 28, 2014

Chungking Express is a breezy little Hong Kong movie that has more life, energy, humanity and sheer visual zing than most other shows you'll see in a month or so.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 28, 2014

Dull it is not, but Wong's trademark sense of romantic melancholy fails to jell amid all the excess.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 28, 2014

It's the cinematic equivalent of popcorn on a hot stove with jump-cut shots, freeze frames, stirringly beautiful images and boundless energy.

Full Review | May 28, 2014

A lyrical and delightfully goofy study in romantic longing.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 28, 2014

The film is so talky, repetitious, visually stuttery, and slackly paced that sitting through it once is like seeing it twice.

| May 28, 2014

Wong made Chungking in just 23 days, and the film's mad-dash energy is nicely reflected in his quartet of stars. Wong, himself a star of cinema's future, has already shown that he possesses a uniquely '90s voice, eye and spirit.

| May 28, 2014

Wong's singular frenetic visual style and his special feeling for lonely romantics may remind you of certain French New Wave directors, but this movie isn't a trip down memory lane; it's a vibrant commentary on young love today, packed with punch.

| May 28, 2014

Wong's dreamlike tone and Doyle's stunning cinematography make this strange love story a joy to watch.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 28, 2014

A quicksilver magical mystery tour through the lives of a bunch of young downtown loners.

| Mar 26, 2009

Despite the liveliness of Chungking Express's first half, it's this second story that catapults it into the company of Wong's best films.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 25, 2008

This is what Godard movies were once like: fast, hand-held, funny and very, very catchy.

| Jun 24, 2006

Mr. Wong has legitimate visual flair, but his characters spend an awful lot of time playing impish tricks. A film in which a man talks to his dishtowel has an overdeveloped sense of fun.

Full Review | Aug 30, 2004

Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express is as fresh as falling rain, a pair of love stories full of pain and humor.

| Feb 14, 2001

Tthis totally charming and uplifting movie confirms Wong Kar-wai's growing reputation as one of world cinema's most exciting stylists and should prove to be an excellent starting point for those unfamiliar with the director's work.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2000

A frenetic one-way ride through The Land of Vaporous Plot, with stops along the way at Irritatingly Cute Extended Metaphor City.

| Jan 1, 2000

It's interesting enough to watch for most of its length because of Wong's incisive camera work and his intense immersion of the Hong Kong night culture.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

More impressive than engaging.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 1, 2000