Review of 1911 - Revolution (2011) by Tom C — 14 Oct 2011

A film that on paper sounds really good but is ultimately a massive disappointment.

I'll get the few good points out of the way first, which is that some of the battle scenes are shot really well, and Jackie Chan still has screen presence, and his choice to do something dramatic rather than comedic is something I'd like to see him do again.

However, that's about all that's good about the film. The method of storytelling is amateurish. It repeatedly uses on-screen text to explain what happens between scenes and who the characters on-screen are, and can never make up its mind if it wants to be a documentary or a drama.

But that's nothing compared to the dialogue which at times sounds like it's been written by a 10-year old. All of the western actors hired have to be amongst the worst actors of all time, and the combination of terrible dialogue and terrible acting whenever they appear make it feel as if this should be a straight-to-DVD movie.

What makes this film particularly disappointing is the juxtaposition of some really interesting material to draw from, and some very good photography next to absolutely abysmal dialogue and acting.

If you want to watch a film about this period of time, watch The Last Emperor.