Shanghai
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: October 2, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
8
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenOct 2, 2015
Håfström’s noir vision does have some slick atmosphere, including some great things to look at, but it has very little to grab onto, never mind take out of the theater, other than a headache. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshOct 2, 2015
Cusack puts in work as Paul, an old-fashioned hero. But he seems miscast and can't quite modulate the levels of camp in his performance. Read full review
50
The New York TimesGlenn KennyOct 1, 2015
The spectacular international cast... bring a lot of life to the movie’s uncooperative story material. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 1, 2015
The mystery is muddled, the romance is tepid and scenes that should be electric with tension are almost dull. Read full review
50
Washington PostMark JenkinsOct 1, 2015
Shanghai is an exercise in retro glamour, alluring decadence and tough-guy posing, all of which it delivers in sufficient quantities. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskySep 30, 2015
Pulp without style: Shanghai has many of the staples of noir—back alleys, shadowy figures, hard-boiled narration, and more femmes fatales than a viewer could keep track of—but none of the atmosphere or cool. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedSep 30, 2015
At least Gong is ravishing, which occasionally takes your mind off the gibberish that is going full tilt around her. Read full review
40
VarietyAndrew BarkerOct 1, 2015
This derivative, ploddingly plotted WWII-set thriller goes through all the motions of an old-school wartime spy pic with plenty of technical competence but zero panache. Read full review
38
Boston GlobePeter KeoughOct 2, 2015
Shot in a rich palette, the film does provide diversion with some of its funkily detailed sets and supporting actors.... Otherwise, the film distinguishes itself for its miscasting and misuse of its cast. Read full review
38
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 20, 2015
Hossein Amini’s script leaves good actors like John Cusack, Ken Watanabe and Chow Yun-Fat flailing. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 1, 2015
Under Mikael Håfström'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. Read full review
30
Village VoiceSimon AbramsSep 29, 2015
Cusack's low-simmering performance keeps the drama at a tediously low boil. Read full review
30
Screen DailyGraham FullerSep 28, 2015
Despite its rich visual evocation of the eponymous port city as a simmering cauldron of vice, corruption, and barbarity, director Mikael Håfström’s film is undone by its tortuous plot, wooden characterisation, absence of narrative tension, and emotional nullity. It simply lacks conviction. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineClayton DillardSep 27, 2015
Everything in Mikael Håfström's film is needlessly bloated to accommodate its status as an international, prestige production. Read full review
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