A Chinese epic of love, honour and revenge.
- Don Groves, sbs.com.au, June 06, 2011
An emotionally fertile exploration of paternal love and revenge.
- Leslie Felperin, Variety, April 04, 2011
A classical historical drama of grand passions and humanity.
- Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter, January 13, 2011
With its widescreen compositions and flame-illuminated interiors, "Sacrifice" is visually entrancing. Yet the movie is not just an exercise in style.
- Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, July 26, 2012
It is handsomely done and well-acted, but it lacks real energy or purpose.
- Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2012
Perhaps it's all that armor, or that even the estimable Mr. Wang seems exhausted by the film's dolorous themes, but it's tough to care about characters who spend most of their lives obsessing over the violent deaths of others.
- Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, July 26, 2012
Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) cowrote and directed, and his talent for psychological drama isn't really suited to this sort of broad, mythic storytelling.
- Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, July 26, 2012
It charges out of the gate in Indiana Jones style, employing so many plot twists that you may need a scorecard. Then after an hour or so, it settles into an intimate, character-driven drama, before its low-key yet thought-provoking finale.
- David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 2012
Now who exactly are those two guys slurping noodles? Are they both doctors? Why do they matter?
- Mark Feeney, Boston Globe, July 26, 2012
The film combines rip-snorting action, crisp editing and juicy performances in a thoroughly entertaining package.
- Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 26, 2012
In "Sacrifice," about a father who loses his son to the power of the state, it is difficult to miss the parallels with Chen's own life.
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, July 25, 2012
Chen's 126-minute film is stuffed with twisty-turny machinations that are difficult to untangle and not especially important to the story at hand...
- Nick Schager, Village Voice, July 24, 2012
Kaige's historical epic favors drama over action (though he doesn't skimp on violence ...), yet everything moves like it's on wuxia autopilot.
- David Fear, Time Out New York, July 24, 2012
Chen can't seem to decide whether he's making a fable or something more down-to-earth, but Sacrifice works either way, if not both at once.
- Sam Adams, AV Club, July 26, 2012
A historical melodrama that retains an ancient, elemental pull even as it insufficiently charts motivation and the self-denying values of antiquity.
- Bill Weber, Slant Magazine, July 23, 2012
