57
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterChen's direction is his most staid yet, but the riveting story speaks for itself.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIn Sacrifice, about a father who loses his son to the power of the state, it is difficult to miss the parallels with Chen's own life.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleUltimately, the film works because the doctor's relationship with the general - and both of their relationships with the doctor's young boy - is just as complicated as the action-packed coup.
- 70VarietyLeslie FelperinVarietyLeslie FelperinSacrifice is practically a chamber piece, and duly draws its strength from its performances, especially those of Ge and Wang.
- 63Slant MagazineBill WeberSlant MagazineBill WeberA historical melodrama that retains an ancient, elemental pull even as it insufficiently charts motivation and the self-denying values of antiquity.
- 50Boston GlobeMark FeeneyBoston GlobeMark FeeneySacrifice wants to have it both ways. It's willing neither to give itself up to the goofy sincerity of genre conventions nor to make the demands on viewers that serious drama requires. The sacrifices Chen's characters make would signify that much more if he'd made a sacrifice or two himself.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisIt's tough to care about characters who spend most of their lives obsessing over the violent deaths of others.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearThe Fifth Generation filmmaker has aced such recipes before (e.g. The Emperor and the Assassin); this time, both the spectacular and the human elements have apparently been offered to the gods.
- 40Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerChen's attention to character over spectacle pays minimal dividends and is compounded by the fact that his battles - full of standard-issue slow motion and hacked-off limbs - are as dull as an overused blade.