The Children of Huang Shi
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: May 23, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
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
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
It radiates intelligence. Of how many historical epics can that be said these days? Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It's a polished, beautifully shot story, and it acknowledges the messiness of real life. But like real life, it's often baffling and frustrating. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
What Spottiswoode lacks in subtlety and restraint, he balances with a heartfelt passion for the material. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This formulaic adventure pays tribute to George Hogg, a true hero largely forgotten everywhere but China, where a statue of him now stands -- a rare honor for a westerner. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeSandy MacDonald
What ought to be the pinnacle of the story - the orphans' odds-defying 500-mile march over snow-covered mountains toward the relative safety of the Mongolian desert - is shunted toward the end of the film and compressed to a near-footnote. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Tells an engrossing story of a remarkable man, but nevertheless it's underwhelming. Dramatic and romantic tension never coil very tightly, as the film settles into a contented pace. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Roger Spottiswoode directs with old-fashioned style, avoiding the saccharine with realistic depictions of a war-ravaged China (where he filmed) and a cast well versed in stiff-upper-lip. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Full of incident but nearly devoid of dramatic tension, The Children of Huang Shi is a based-on-fact saga that has lost much of its power on the long road to the screen. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
Giving Jonathan Rhys Meyers the kind of manly yet paternal role Spencer Tracy once mastered, this carefully wrought international production relates the basic story of reporter George Hogg without any vibrancy, emotion or style. Read full review
50
Village VoiceElla Taylor
A tale as ploddingly familiar as it is good-looking and worth telling. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Sometimes the most compelling real-life stories make better documentaries than dramas. Such would seem to be the case with The Children of Huang Shi. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
If you can get past the Eurocentric focus, there are worse ways to pass the time than to see The Children of Huang Shi, if only because the glimpse into the time and place are captivating and the images are gorgeous. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
You can be 100 percent in favor of rescuing adorable orphans from war-torn zones and still find The Children of Huang Shi a tough haul. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding manages some lovely images, and some of Spottiswoode’s compositions remind you he's capable of fine work. But Hogg never comes to life, on the page or on the screen. Read full review
50
Washington PostJohn Anderson
The best thing about "Children" is the cinematography by Zhao Xiaoding ("Hero," "House of Flying Daggers"), which is so distracting because it so out-classes the rest of the movie. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
One of those international co-productions full of good intentions and blandly polished results. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Director Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies) uses the children and action sequences to good effect, but a lack of chemistry between Rhys Meyers and Mitchell makes the love story fizzle. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
An old-fashioned story of courage and self-sacrifice in the face of war and deprivation. It's also sappy, boring and obvious. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Never achieves the David Lean style of epic it aims for - exterior vistas and interior dramas - but it has two charismatic performances, beautiful Chinese locations and an admirable lack of sentimentality. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
Unfortunately, like so many movies that celebrate a historical hero, Children is plagued by an overblown sense of its own importance. Read full review
38
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Beautiful but boring. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's like "Schindler's List" crossed with "The Sound of Music," and Roger Spottiswoode directs it in a stiff, lifeless, utterly dated style of international squareness. Read full review
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