Perhaps the greatest mystery this film never solves isn't why Shanghai fell, but rather how such a magnificent cast was ever swayed to climb aboard.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 5, 2017

The true-life historical background is more compelling than the fictional melodrama.

| Oct 9, 2015

Written by the talented Hossein Amini and clearly inspired by spy and detective movies of the 1940s, this seems to have been a labor of love. But SHANGHAI is so convoluted that it eventually becomes lost.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 9, 2015

Cusack is halfway between Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Stewart, and the result doesn't come together.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 7, 2015

Even if an uncredited editor were hired to make clear sense of these pieces, the film wouldn't work.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 2, 2015

You might be forgiven for expecting either an unfairly squelched masterpiece or an unholy mess. The movie is neither, although it falls closer to the mess side of the table.

| Oct 1, 2015

Under Mikael Hfstrm's visually clunky, rhythmless direction, it's a snooze of epic sameness: choppy action scenes, a blankly stern Cusack, and too many allegiance shifts to count or care for.

| Oct 1, 2015

It is hampered by weak writing and a badly executed story line.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 1, 2015

Don't look for plausibility in this World War II epic set in China, just enjoy the lavishly produced, exotic and often exciting ride.

| Oct 1, 2015

[A] turgid, anemic, already five-year-old motion picture from Swedish director Mikael Hfstrm.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Oct 1, 2015

Director Mikael Hafstrom and a fine cast and crew have made a film that's elegant and gauche in roughly equal measure.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 1, 2015

Hfstrm directs it like he's sucking too hard on a cigarette, in a quick, over-and-done-with style that results only in fitful coughs of smoke.

| Original Score: C | Oct 1, 2015

How many times does John Cusack have to prove he is no leading man? In Shanghai he comes off as Sam Spade with chopsticks.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 30, 2015

It's all intriguing and breathtaking, along with a mournful, lovely score by Klaus Badelt, but not enough to compensate for the miserable writing.

| Sep 30, 2015

Cusack does his best to evoke compassion for his character, and he is quick on his feet, whether trying to woo Anna, or outsmart his captors. But none of it is enough to highly recommend "Shanghai".

| Sep 30, 2015

A morass of clichs and orientalism salvaged from the Hollywood backlot debris of 75 years ago.

| Original Score: 3 | Sep 30, 2015

Goes through all the motions of an old-school wartime spy pic with plenty of technical competence but zero panache, the filmic equivalent of a bar band working through one last Skynyrd cover just before last call.

| Sep 30, 2015

Shanghai isn't altogether awful, but knowing that it has the potential to be so much better in the hands of a stronger director makes it a frustrating affair.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Sep 29, 2015

The film often feels like a drab collection of scenes where John Cusack disinterestedly questions attractive, elusive Asian cast members.

| Sep 29, 2015

Everything in Mikael Hfstrm's film is needlessly bloated to accommodate its status as an international, prestige production.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 27, 2015