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The Promise
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Metascore
53 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score
4.4 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

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10 out of 10
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 26
  3. Negative: 3 out of 26
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    100
    For Kaige, The Promise can't exactly be called a return to form--it's more a return to "Hero" and "House Of Flying Daggers" director Zhang Yimou's form. Either way, it's still glorious.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    While it aspires to draw the same audiences who admired "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero," The Promise is but a pale imitation of those landmark films.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    38
    Pretty much a mess of a movie; the acting is overwrought, the plot is too tangled to play like anything BUT a plot, and although I know you can create terrific special effects at home in the basement on your computer, the CGI work in this movie looks like it was done with a dial-up connection.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 2 out of 3
  1. PaulK.
    4
    Don't believe the hype. While the story may be of interest to some, it is ultimately too cliche. That said, my biggest problem with this film were the visuals. Some of the effects are fine, but a majority are flat out bad. Consistency in the quality of effects would have made Kevin Thomas' quote about this being "one of the most beautiful films imaginable" valid. As it stands, this is not even close to Crouching Tiger, Hero, or Flying Daggers. Wait for video, if you must.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. KaiY.
    1
    Cheesy, tacky, corny and thoroughly unbelievable (even by fantasy standards). Tse's rant about how Cheung's theft of a bun from him set him down on the road of evil is the most laughably ridiculous piece of crap ever spouted on screen.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JamesS.
    1
    Note that when it comes to Asian martial arts films, American critics tend to be more lenient because of its novelty, or the assumptions that the incoherent plot lines could be due to "lost in translation". So users should review the review and moderate it down a few grades to be objective. Especially so if you are familiar with this genre of film before it caught on with the west.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes