The Children of Huang Shi: Critic Reviews

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.

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.

Though there are some powerful performances, notably those of Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat, and some sweeping visuals, the movie feels melodramatic and overheated.

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.

In alternating between an epic remove and a pro forma romance, The Children of Huang Shi stints on the messy middle ground, where the unscripted human element resides.

It's a sturdy film, vivid if utterly workmanlike, that builds to a crescendo of personal sacrifice and misty noble uplift.

Tells an engrossing story of a remarkable man, but nevertheless it's underwhelming.

Very pretty but very stiffly written, The Children of Huang Shi strives for epic canvases relaying an intimate story.

Director Roger Spottiswoode uses the children and action sequences to good effect, but a lack of chemistry between Rhys Meyers and Mitchell makes the love story fizzle.

Audiences tolerant of cliched uplift may dab their eyes, but demanding moviegoers will look elsewhere.

Director Roger Spottiswoode's skills for physical production outpace his ability to generate vitality and bring out the best in his actors.

Perhaps it would have been wise for the director, Roger Spottiswoode, to make more efficient use of Chow Yun-fat, who shows up now and then as a resistance fighter.

If it doesn't measure up to the label "epic," it's still an engaging account of one man's journey through war and those circumstances that give meaning to the saying, "Heroes are made, not born."

It's a compelling story, with only a few jarring notes.

As predictable as it is picturesque, The Children of Huang Shi is one of those international co-productions full of good intentions and blandly polished results.

Period tale of real-life heroism doesn't fully come to life.

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.

...the film falls flat under the weight of its period-drama conventions and three performances that epitomize paycheck joylessness.

Cynicism for another true story of a reckless white adventurer finding redemption and purpose helping 3rd World unfortunates evaporates with stunning and moving WWII scenes.

It is, however, such a spectacular-looking movie, as shot by cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding that it is, to use that old cliche, worth the price of admission.

The real test of endurance is on the shoulders of an audience challenged to sit through more than two hours of predictable plot turns and recycled sentimentality.

It radiates intelligence. Of how many historical epics can that be said these days?