Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

badajoz-1 A story about the 1911 Chinese Revolution headed by Sun Yat Sen, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty, tries to cover too much ground for those unfamiliar with its details. It races over three continents with a cast of thousands, concentrating on several key figures, with some of the smallest titles on screen to tell you where and when you are in 1911/1912. It is quite confusing and, on DVD very difficult to follow the names of revolutionary heroes and changes of place and time - it is not told sequentially! However, one gets the gist of a powerful movement led by a small group trying to overthrow hundreds of years of history and a mighty (if decaying inwardly) imperial apparatus. Jackie Chan as part director and star (as the General who led the Revolutionary forces) is very good in a character role, but some of the others look a little po-faced as they play national heroes. The main strength of the film is the revolutionary rhetoric and the powerful battle scenes - leading the way towards the Great War (why did not the West look at how this war was fought before killing hundreds of thousands to learn lessons?!)- which grip and horrify in equal measure, and even manage to show some cowardice! A pity a much longer film or TV series was not attempted so that we Westerners could understand things a little better!

sddavis63 Considering this is only a little more than an hour and a half in length, "1911" does a pretty decent job of offering the viewer a look at the 1911 revolution in China that toppled the Qing dynasty and inaugurated the Chinese Republic. The movie is heavy on battle scenes as the republicans and monarchists battle - and some of them are pretty graphic. The movie also gives a substantial look at some of the internal politics of the republican movement, which was not exactly a unified movement, except in its overall goal of toppling the monarchy. There's a few reflections on the place of foreigners and on repeated foreign interference in Chinese affairs. Basically this is pretty well acted by everyone involved, and it plays it pretty straight, with only one scene that I can recall that descends into Chinese martial arts. The fact that it is so short means that while it offers the viewer a good taste of the revolution, it lacks any real depth. Obviously, the era was far more complicated than is portrayed here.One thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the movies was the subtitles. I understand the need for them, of course, but there were two problems with them - first, they sometimes flashed by so fast that it was difficult to read them, and, second, there were many times when there were two different sets of subtitles on the screen - one translating dialogue, and one translating historical information that was being offered on screen. It was difficult to follow both, and the latter especially were written in a very small font.The movie was produced in mainland China to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1911 revolution. Unsurprisingly, then, the movie pays homage in its closing captions to the Chinese Communist Party as the inheritors of the revolutionary tradition. Aside from that, though, this didn't come across to me as a particularly heavy propaganda piece, which I appreciated. (6/10)

Paulsif This movie was a boring cardboard cutout of a rousing historical movie. Textbook historical accuracy doesn't translate into an entertaining movie. If you are a history student who is currently learning about this period in China's history it might be interesting. Interesting in the way that watching a required movie during class instead of listening to a lecture might be interesting. In other words you may be able to sneak in a nap. Others who may like this movie are the Chinese or Chinese heritage people. Many other favorable reviews I have read of this movie seem to be written by that type. I don't doubt that the source material is interesting and compelling; it was just poorly done here. In short, if you are Chinese or a Chinese history buff, you'll probably like this movie.

webmaster-3017 There is a moment in this latest propaganda film directed by Jackie Chan where they try to compare the French Revolution (1799) with the Chinese Revolution. As you know, the French Revolution involves a little man named Napoleon Bonaparte. More interestingly, Napoleon boldly claimed – "I am the revolution." I am not sure that is the kind of selfish nature that the Chinese government is after, but that's for another day. Sun Yat-Sen is probably a selfless man and that's a rare quality, but as a film, 1911 does not work. It is far too uneven, confusing and even to the point of boredom at times. Sure, there are some good bits and pieces, but Jackie Chan misses the mark in directing a patriotic version of a history lesson, rather than a movie experience. In fact, the focus is squarely on Sun Yat-Sen's character that the film tends to neglect everyone else in the movie, including developing Jackie Chan's Huang Xing role. By neglecting those around him, the film never seems to engage, involve or move the audience as a result. Perhaps, Chan should have been more self-indulgent and selfish, by focusing more on himself, but then again this would have been another film altogether. It is by no means a fail attempt at something different from Chan, but sometimes, trying hard is not good enough. I don't know what more to say, but the film just doesn't work for me… Neo rates it 5.5/10www.thehkneo.com