The Grandmaster strikes me as Wong's strongest film since In the Mood for Love and surprisingly credible as an exercise in kung fu stylistics as well as temps perdu.

| Feb 25, 2019

The Grandmaster interweaves themes of ancient loyalty and modern betrayal around a narrative predicated upon the interplay between the differing schools, traditions and movements of myriad martial arts disciplines.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 7, 2014

Each punch, kick and impact is captured cleanly and coherently, Wong serving the spectacle of a big brawl rather than resisting its adrenalised charms.

| Dec 5, 2014

The Grandmaster is an anomaly -- a mournful and delicate kung-fu movie with hardly a trace of machismo about it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 4, 2014

Wong Kar-wei's The Grandmaster is one of the more exquisite martial arts movies around, as the Hong Kong auteur behind the lyrical In the Mood for Love takes on the legend of Ip Man.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 4, 2014

As a film-maker, Wong appears to be retreating upriver into genre, style and mannerism. It is all managed very elegantly - but with a fraction of the power in his greatest work.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 4, 2014

It may not be much more than six of the most imaginatively staged and filmed fight scenes in the cinema, but that's almost certainly enough to recommend it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 4, 2014

Tony Leung's charismatic performance as the man who was martial arts instructor to Bruce Lee anchors the film, but in this version at least the story equally belongs to Gong Er, and Zhang Yiyi is splendid in the role, especially in the later scenes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 11, 2014

It is rich, distinctive and lush, as you would expect, although this new feature from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai has been a long time coming.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 4, 2014

The movie's problems are, in part, those of a great artist trying something new. It's a fine mess.

| Jan 3, 2014

In the absence of genuine profundity, but with dazzling craft on frequent display, his most ardent devotees may summon enough loyalty to defend this one as a noble failure.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2013

He's typically more show than tell, but The Grandmaster -- charting a largely chronological course and plodgy with pedantic title cards that rehash what the attentive viewer has already gleaned -- is heavy with the telling.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 30, 2013

It ranks with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and House of Flying Daggers as one of the most elegant and beautiful martial-arts films to play American screens.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 30, 2013

You leave this deeply flawed, deeply beautiful film with no doubt that you've seen an indisputable cinematic grandmaster in action.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 30, 2013

I still consider my Grandmaster experience incomplete for now. And it's a testament to how much quality still remains that I want to complete it.

| Original Score: 3.5/5.0 | Aug 30, 2013

Wong Kar Wai is an expressionist master. A master of character - deep, rich, truthful character - especially in The Grandmaster, he is not.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 30, 2013

"The Grandmaster" can feel stiff at times, and something is doubtlessly lost in translation. But the precision and magic of Wong Kar Wai's camera is so captivating it doesn't matter.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 30, 2013

Beautiful but troubled, achieving in stretches the director's signature dreamy mood but dragged down by narrative confusions.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 29, 2013

Granted, "The Grandmaster" is not a primer on Chinese philosophy. Yet it may score as crossover cinema for Wong fans and Lee fans.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 29, 2013

As a kung fu film, "The Grandmaster," with its exhilarating fighting sequences, won't disappoint. As a Wong Kar-wai film, it rates high.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 29, 2013