The film kept my interest throughout but really didn't do anything special. For me the plot never felt like it really had any emotion and I think this was really the main weakness of the film. There are a lot of subplots in many ways but none ever really materialize into anything interesting more or less each is created and then later ended. The main character in the end seems to be a good guy yet for some reason I never really felt any strong hope for him to live, or for him to succeed. The characters of this film constantly have a flat straight face and I feel like this is a good way to describe this movie. Flat and slightly down but really not having any strong emotion.

After her dazzling and - why to deny it? - difficult first film, Diao Yinan returns with a film that seems to mark the style that his later career will have, following the old tradition of Asian cinema of violence, lies and political allegories, combining them with neon colors that hypnotize the viewer. I'm not a fan of noir cinema, but this is a feast.

Too slow, but terrific camera work.

A view of life of regular people in China.

The grit and uncertainty of where it’s going is enough to hold you on through it’s initial slow pace, then when the characters become engaging things pick up. I suppose it’s neo noir, from China no less, two characteristics I don’t see too often. There’s also flashes in the pan of artistry, and when thought about the film as a whole, there is social commentary.

The director is a great master of film noir. The movie is visually beautiful. Every actor is great.

Regardless of how you personally respond to this film's vaguely structured narrative, let there be no confusion about how endlessly watchable it is. Add yet another name to the list of young(er) international filmmakers to keep your eye on for the next several years. "The Wild Goose Lake" plays out in most unusual fashion, yet the few moments that distract from the experience with jarring edits, unresolved conflicts within a scene that just fizzle out – instead of reaching ANY sort of definite conclusion – only amount to little missteps, keeping the overall experience of the film mostly engaging, and – at times – absolutely stunning to regard. Let this elliptical mystery-crime story unfold effortlessly with highly clever use of blocking via silhouettes & shadows – and always drenched thickly in the plume of cigarette smoke, fog, or both. You won't regret it.

On the docket today a Chinese neo-noir crime thriller and it was just what the doctor ordered. I was engaged and the few fight scenes there are have an originality. I loved the way this was shot, but there are a couple shock value moments that may not be for everyone. Enjoyed the way this is edited and don't be confused with some intentional misdirections just to be sure you're on your toes. This is a long chase and the rewarding finish makes it well worth the watch when it comes to a VOD sites! Final Score: 8.2/10

I want the story to be about the gone in 60 seconds type car stealing spree to determine gang supremacy that is set up in the first 10 min. The story ends up being a weak John Wick revenge plot where a guy aimlessly goes around killing everyone for 2 hours. The characters aren't defined enough to care who he is killing or even know if they are cops or gang members. The visual appeal of this movie is it's saving grace keeping it from falling in the star ratings.

Zhou Zenong（Hu Ge), understands this truth that running away is not the most effective way to resist death, on the contrary, dealing with his death freely is the only way to make his life more meaningful. The bruised body of Zhou was clearly marked up as an expensive piece of prey. The party at the south station(which is the Chinese name of this film) was a brutal feast, with people from all walks of life circling around like vultures, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on the dying man and take their share of the surplus value. The director has rather capriciously placed a scene of killing secondary characters in a zoo at night, making the caged beast with its eyes wide open in the light and shadows an explicit rhetoric of Zhou Zenong's fate.

This is a nightmare where you're running away and being chased. This time through the underbelly of second-tier suburban China, hunted by policemen and gangster groups, motives every-changing and betrayals left and right. It's surreal and sleazy, dream-like. The pace is at once languid, and then abrupt. Super stylish film, fresh and original take on classic Hollywood noir, cast in neon tones in central China.

A fantastic modern noir! The film is stylish, but also has great suspense and action. If it's in your area, watch it!

A film that I'll end up likening to Ridley Scott's 2010 iteration of "Robin Hood" more than I'd like to, "The Wild Goose Lake" features a terrifically thrilling first act, a pulse-pounding final few scenes, but one of the more frustrating middle acts I've seen in recent memory, filled with a seemingly innumerable amount of aimless scenes with scant amounts of weight loaded into any of them. It's a shame, too, because of the aesthetics that are in play in nearly every frame. There's so many images featuring expressive lighting, deliberate blocking, and brilliant camera movements -- it's just a drag that so many of the scenes that these things occur within have very little to them circumstantially speaking. If only as much were placed into the construction of this film's second act as there was placed in its sleek and potentially indelible look.

The twisting and turning nocturnal noir is full of moody attitude and glorious cinematography, it all unfolds over a short period of time in and around the Wild Goose Lake. This is a movie with great staying power. After watching it, it is impossible for you to ignore it.