Movies
Welcome to the Game is a slick mystery/thriller that leans heavily on a lush presentation and some fun twists (not unlike Fincher's similarly titled 90s classic). It's a simple genre flick with limited ambitions, but the execution is near-perfect. The performances are solid, the villain is great, the cinematography is bliss and the finale is a blast. The final scene in particular is one of the best I've seen in a while. I doubt this film will have any international exposure, but if you have the chance to watch it, don't miss out.
With a title like that, you know you can expect another bout of Chinese propaganda. Then again, the film isn't all that different from the many historic war flicks that came before, picking one notable figure from China's long and war-ridden history and focusing both on action and strategy aspects of the battles he fought. The battles are decent enough and the focus on the strategic elements is nice, but there's a bit too much melodrama and the film slows down considerably during the second half. Performances are nothing special, and the film struggles to set itself apart from its peers. Not bad, but nothing you haven't seen before.Read all