Man of Tai Chi
RADiUS-TWC | Release Date: November 1, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
14
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 30, 2013
For fans of wushu flicks — or action movies in general — Man Of Tai Chi presents a rare appreciation for the art of conveying movement on screen, while also serving as an impressive physical showcase for its star, stuntman Tiger Chen. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyNov 1, 2013
Man of Tai Chi is hugely entertaining. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNov 2, 2013
It’s the kind of solid, small-scale, entertaining action flick we probably need more of these days. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 31, 2013
The brutally efficient shooting style Reeves employs to film master choreographer Yuen Woo Ping's breathtaking fights...is refreshingly grounded and old-school kinetic. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesBruce IngramOct 31, 2013
The story is so-so, in other words, but the pummeling is primo. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughOct 31, 2013
With his thoughtful exploration of the conflict between desire and responsibility, and his self-reflexive exploration of the themes of voyeurism, ambition, and personal identity, Reeves’s debut shows signs of a talented filmmaker. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 31, 2013
The fight is the thing in Man of Tai Chi, Keanu Reeves’s down-and-dirty and generally diverting directing debut. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghOct 31, 2013
If you have a yen for martial-arts action, Man of Tai Chi could do the trick depending on how seriously you take Reeves’ performance. At the film’s worst, it’s empty yet still attractive (much, it can be argued, like Reeves). Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 31, 2013
The fights are strong (though the 49-year-old director’s are slo-mo), and the surface is calm. Say “Whoa!” if you like, but it’s cool. Read full review
60
Time OutR. Kurt OsenlundOct 29, 2013
Keanu Reeves’s five-years-in-the-making directorial debut won’t dispel the notion that his acting range begins and ends with monotonous recitations of “whoa.” But this wuxia does establish him as a deft helmer of cinematic combat. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterClarence TsuiJul 16, 2013
While weighed down by digressions and contraptions, Man of Tai Chi is an adequate and ambitious effort from a first-time director, who could have enhanced his on-screen philosophical arguments with a bit more depth and done with a touch less of the admittedly riveting man-to-man melee. Read full review
55
NPRMark JenkinsNov 1, 2013
Basically the anti-"Kill Bill." Both movies are quilted together from their auteurs' favorite Asian action flicks, but where Tarantino's was overheated, Reeves' is elegantly iced. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Dave McGinnOct 31, 2013
Ambitious but generic martial-arts movie. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoOct 31, 2013
A modestly entertaining martial arts melodrama with impressively staged fight sequences that help compensate for a stale plot and some less-than-stellar acting. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 31, 2013
Suffice to realize that Reeves’ opening salvo is an ambitious and heady mix of the glorious (if overtold) past, the tense present, and the imperfectly perfect realm of Chen’s fighter, his conscience, and blow upon blow upon blow. The concoction works, despite – or maybe because of – its unjaded, fantastical familiarity Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreOct 29, 2013
The script here is pretty stale stuff, with an under-developed side story of the cop (Karen Mok) on Donako’s trail and dialogue (in English and Chinese) that is often banal. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenOct 27, 2013
The film ultimately doesn't live up to this early potential, as Keanu Reeves loses his way in the third act with too many false climaxes. Read full review
50
The PlaylistGabe ToroSep 25, 2013
Exceptionally gorgeous and exceptionally silly. Read full review
50
VarietyMaggie LeeSep 25, 2013
There’s little in the way of drama, character depth or mise-en-scene to distract from Tiger Chen’s technically dazzling display of human combat in Keanu Reeves’ helming debut. Read full review
40
The DissolveNathan RabinOct 1, 2013
Despite its shortcomings as a narrative, Man Of Tai Chi nevertheless feels like Reeves made exactly the movie he set out to make, assuming he didn’t set out to create a movie that was “good” by any stretch of the imagination so much as intermittently entertaining, albeit probably not for the reasons intended. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 31, 2013
If for some reason you find yourself in a theater watching the martial arts adventure Man of Tai Chi...feel free to take a nap during the non-fight sequences. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonOct 29, 2013
The film is stale Chinese popcorn from the get-go, with only Chen's wiry guilelessness and wicked athletic skills to keep it remotely edible. Read full review
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