A masterpiece of composition, choreography, and a lesson in minimalist storytelling.

| Jul 18, 2023

For a genre so concerned with the distant past, wuxia’s popularity in China is not premised strictly on nostalgia.

| May 9, 2022

This is an exquisite martial arts movie you will not soon forget.

| Original Score: FIVE STARS | Apr 22, 2022

While its narrative is ultimately simple, it unfolds with a dizzying number of players, who assist in making Hu's pacing more frenetic than one would imagine, considering the story's scope.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 18, 2020

[King Hu's] control over camera movement and composition is exemplary, building the tension and invigorating the swordplay.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 18, 2019

Director King Hu makes kinetic use of the widescreen frame: the action is dominated by gonzo knife throwing, and arrow fire has seldom felt so lethal.

| Jun 18, 2019

Hu directs his fight sequences with a showman's flair but also a pickpocket's sleight of hand. He puts you inside the action.

| Jun 18, 2019

A sight to behold, tightly choreographed and beautifully shot, establishing Hu as a true master of the cinematic language.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 3, 2019

Dragon Inn still feels fresh and timeless, and the bold colors and old Hollywood aesthetic make this feel as much like John Ford's lost kung fu movie as a fifty year-old martial arts picture.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 5, 2019

...the rare coalescing of disparate artistic modes into something so new, so bold, so defiantly different that the history of a genre can be demarcated into eras before it and after it.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Dec 29, 2018

Dragon Inn, therefore, represents King Hu's commercial apotheosis, the bridge between his popular hits and the more individualized path he'd continue to blaze with diminishing commercial results.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 31, 2018

I had an absolute blast with Dragon Inn and have no reservation suggesting it's among the very best wuxia titles I've ever seen.

| Oct 31, 2018

King Hu's Dragon Inn stands alone - a seminal example of a genre that continues to thrill admirers and fans throughout the world.

| Aug 8, 2017

There is action aplenty from start to finish and the fight choreography is splendid, especially considering that this is a 50 year old movie.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 4, 2016

We've grown accustomed to wire work in wuxia films...so it's all the more astonishing to watch swordsmen and women somersaulting through the air or chopsticks used to thwart weapons, all stunts accomplished in camera or through editing.

| Original Score: B+ | May 31, 2016

If you don't know the name King Hu, now's the perfect opportunity to remedy that.

| May 20, 2016

King Hu's masterwork is guaranteed to out-Marvel any of the major blockbusters on this summer's release schedule.

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 19, 2016

It features the tragic sweep and striking natural vistas that became hallmarks of Hu's later films, but it is also loads and loads of fun.

| Original Score: 4.5 | May 13, 2016

This cast takes the project super seriously even at moments when you can't - and dammit, they'll make you believe.

| May 6, 2016

Violence in "Dragon Inn" is exciting not just because it's choreographed exceptionally well, but because there's a genuine sense of danger and excitement in each fight scenes.

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 6, 2016