At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is split into warring factions, the citizens are starving, and recent political reforms have made matters worse, not better. The ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a seven-year-old emperor, and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu is completely out of touch after 250 years of unquestioned power. Huang Xing has recently returned from Japan, where he has studied the art of modern warfare. When he finds his country falling apart, he feels he has no choice but to pick up the sword.
What should be rousing stuff - a republic is born! the chains of feudalism thrown off! - remains a kind of lavishly illustrated history lesson.
– Rachel Saltz,
New York Times,
6 Oct 2011
rotten:
Packed with so many characters and subtitled history lessons it barely allows its excellent main cast room to maneuver.
– G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
7 Oct 2011
rotten:
May be slow going for anyone not well-versed in this chapter of Chinese history.
– Sara Stewart,
New York Post,
7 Oct 2011
rotten:
Earnest and studious to a fault. Rarely has a film about upheaval felt more like a textbook.
– Joe Neumaier,
New York Daily News,
7 Oct 2011
rotten:
The Revolution will not be televised, Gil Scott-Heron once sang. Nor should it be filmed, we might add -- at least not as a costume drama with stirring speeches, an inspirational love story and gloriously heroic military charges.