- Network: Disney+
- Series Premiere Date: May 24, 2023
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Critic Reviews
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In its final act, the different threads of the narrative are braided together effectively, but culminate in the sort of unimaginative superheroes-blasting-stuff-at-each-other that ends most Marvel films and is less thrilling than the riveting quest for Jin to join and be accepted by his high school soccer team.
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This dichotomy of extraordinary and all-too-ordinary is responsible for both the highs and lows of “American Born Chinese.” The season strains to squeeze a lot into just eight episodes.
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Sometimes, the wholesome teen angle can hold the series back – its representations of racism and emotional upheaval feel too Disney-fied, sterilised, brushed under the carpet rather than fully explored. .... If the serious parts of the series had received a more adult spin, this would be a brilliant show; instead, it's merely a good one.
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American Born Chinese feels like about three series crammed into one, which might explain why it takes so long to get into its story. Despite good moments and the benefit of fortuitous timing – featuring Michelle Yeoh and (briefly) Ke Huy Quan after their Oscar-winning work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – the intriguing mix of action, coming-of-age teen dramedy and fantasy never entirely gels.
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It’s like the show wanted to showcase all its potential but may only be able to thread it together in a possible second season. If this is what it takes for this story to really come to life, then fine — but at this moment, it’s hard not to view it as a massive waste of time.
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American Born Chinese is quite incisive at moments, but could be more convincing.
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It does a lot of things right in the first season, and lays considerable groundwork for deeper character dives and plot expansion in the future. But it’d be daft to think Disney would be able to capture the Asian American experience in a way that pleases everyone, everywhere, all at once.
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Easy to watch but just as easy not to watch, “American Born Chinese” strives to charm you in ways that may work or may make you wince from their familiarity.
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By the end, whatever feels distinct about American Born Chinese, which primarily resides in the quotidian details of Jin and his family’s life, washes away in a blur of scrolls, rebellions, and tacked-on endgame stakes. It feels like a vibrant coming-of-age story, spun out of edgier source material, that’s been made to conform to the needs of the Disney machine — a dynamic that sounds suspiciously like its own form of assimilation.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 15
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Mixed: 2 out of 15
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Negative: 6 out of 15
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May 24, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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Jun 4, 2023Spectacular star lineup, also made the adaptation of Journey to the West very interesting