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Finishing the Game
IFC Films


6.2

based on 10 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Roger Fan, Sung Kang, James Franco, McCaleb Burnett, Jim Parrack, Dustin Nguyen, Cassidy Freeman, and M.C. Hammer

The unexpected death of Bruce Lee, a world-wide phenomenon and established movie star, came at the zenith of his popularity. Having already shot scenes for his upcoming movie Game of Death, studio heads decided to complete the film by launching a search for his replacement attracting hopefuls from all around the world. Finishing the Game is an uproarious, poignant, unpredictable and action-packed re-imagining of that casting process for Lee's replacement and examines the leaps and bounds Asians have taken in media representation - or have they? (IFC Films)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Josh Diamond Justin Lin
DIRECTED BY:	Justin Lin
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 20, 2008 Theatrical: October 5, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	88 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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...

San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand

When you finally stop laughing, there is something to think about.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

There’s nothing new in the movie’s sociocultural insights, especially for those of us already interested in how identity is shaped by pop culture, but the breezy tone and obvious fun being had by the cast make Finishing the Game a slight, low-key cool cinematic essay on identity politics.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It feels as though everyone involved was having a rollicking good time, and while the film itself is wildly uneven, Lin and company get in a few pointed jabs at Hollywood fatuousness and self-delusion, cultural stereotypes and '70s fashions.

The Hollywood Reporter Justin Lowe

The ensemble cast members play well off one another, particularly Fan as the self-absorbed Bruce Lee wannabe and Lynn in the role of the monumentally ignorant casting director.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Finishing The Game doesn't get anywhere that "Hollywood Shuffle" didn't go to first, even if it has its own set of specific complaints about how show business treats Asians.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A genially scattershot mockumentary.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

A faux documentary grounded in ethnicity and mired in absurdity, Finishing the Game is a terrific idea still waiting to be fashioned into a real movie.

Los Angeles Times Staff (Not credited)

Only intermittently funny at best, but mostly full of dead air, the film is a let-down on both fronts.

Village Voice Nick Pinkerton

By setting the film in a deliberately distanced '70s, writer-director Justin Lin gets the benefit of looking-back-in-superiority.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The film completely misses what should have been its real target -- the filming of Game of Death, a martial-arts campfest worthy of Edward D. Wood Jr.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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Finishing the Game IFC Films

Finishing the Game
IFC Films