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CJ7
Sony Pictures Classics

CJ7 reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 46 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.5 out of 10
based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for language, thematic material, some rude humor and brief smoking

Starring Stephen Chow, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, and Xu Jian

Ti is a poor father who works all day, every day at a construction site to make sure his son Dicky Chow can attend an elite private school. Despite his father's good intentions to give his son the opportunities he never had, Dicky, with his dirty and tattered clothes and none of the "cool" toys, stands out from his schoolmates like a sore thumb. Ti can't afford to buy Dicky any expensive toys and goes to the best place he knows to get new stuff for Dicky: the junkyard! While out "shopping" for a new toy for his son, Ti finds a mysterious orb and brings it home for Dicky to play with. To his surprise and disbelief, the orb reveals itself to Dicky as a bizarre "pet" with extraordinary powers. Armed with his "CJ7," Dicky seizes this chance to overcome his poor background and shabby clothes and impress his fellow schoolmates for the first time in his life. But CJ7 has other ideas, and when Dicky brings it to class, chaos ensues. (Sony Pictures)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Sci-fi  
WRITTEN BY: Stephen Chow  
DIRECTED BY: Stephen Chow  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: March 7, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Hong Kong 
LANGUAGE(S): Mandarin 

Alternative Title: Cheung Gong 7 hou

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
This utterly beguiling foray into family comedy from Hong Kong director Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) may be the tribute to Spielberg's "E.T. Extra-Terrestrial" the gleefully childlike filmmaker has had up his sleeve forever.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Kamal AL-Solaylee
If CJ7 feels like the love child of Charles Dickens, Mao Zedong and Steven Spielberg, it's because that's exactly what this PG-rated, Chinese-made fantasy is.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
CJ7 is precisely the 80-something minutes of delirium and cheesy special-effects you'd expect from the man responsible for the chaos of "Shaolin Soccer" and the lunacy of "Kung Fu Hustle."
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
A devilishly entertaining curveball thrown at unsuspecting family audiences.
Read Full Review
67
The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
C7J isn't as cutesy as "Batteries Not Included" or "Short Circuit," or as grim as "Gremlins," though it resembles them all in its jerky, semi-comic look at the havoc and helpfulness of weirdo artificial life.
Read Full Review
63
Premiere Glenn Kenny
The overall feel is Hong Kong to the core…which means CJ7, like the first 25 minutes or so of "Shaolin Soccer," doesn't make many allowances to Western sensibilities.
Read Full Review
50
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Its use of minor expletives and a depressing chapter late in the movie will not satisfy parents seeking something sweet and lively for their children; nor will it charm art house audiences up for a smart adult fairy tale.
Read Full Review
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Bright, bouncy, kooky and comically tone deaf, CJ7 is the most bizarre kids movie I've ever seen.
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50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Heavy on slapstick and may appeal to very young viewers who won't need to bother much with the subtitles.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson
A bit of a letdown. The manic comedian who has gained fans worldwide for his outrageous slapstick and special effects-driven antics in "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer" takes a backseat this time - and that's part of the problem: This is lesser Chow because there is less Chow.
Read Full Review
50
Variety Richard Kuipers
"E.T."-inspired comic fantasy about a poor boy adopting a cute alien catches the eye but not fully the heart with its undernourished father-son dynamics, critter hijinks and smattering of social commentary.
Read Full Review
50
The Hollywood Reporter Maggie Lee
A hyperactive, wishful-thinking special effects fantasy suitable for family outings.
Read Full Review
40
Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
As clumsy and awkward as his previous films were stylishly silly.
Read Full Review
38
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
CJ7 is roughly as grating as that “Flubber” remake.
Read Full Review
33
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Trivial and charmless.
Read Full Review
20
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Chow's loyal fans are sure to be disappointed by CJ7, and the film faces one other significant problem in traveling to these shores: Any kid who is the right age to appreciate this pap is going to be too young to read subtitles.
Read Full Review
8
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's awful. Awful. That's all. Keep walking. For the love of all that's holy. Keep. Walking.
Read Full Review
0
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
You leave this movie feeling mugged.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Discuss this movie in our forums

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