Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Jay Carr, Boston Globe: Frequently gripping and visually striking. Read more
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Ridiculously entertaining, like a 2-hour visit to some weird foreign county fair where you visit an educational exhibit, knock down some stuffed targets, catch the freak show, visit the house of horrors and then get lucky on the Ferris wheel. Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Feels artificial, a concoction designed to be outrageous and cool, instead of earning coolness on its own merits. Read more
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: So long, expensive and spectacularly staged that you can't dismiss it as a sordid trifle. Read more
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: If you see one French costume drama martial arts werewolf secret society romance this year, make sure this is it. Read more
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: The picture has a daring attention-span deficit and an epic silliness that can be awesomely entertaining. Read more
Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: A tremendously fun, epic, kitchen-sink of genres that just avoids getting too silly or predictable. Read more
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A deliriously entertaining film -- part myth, part monster, part The Matrix. Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A cross-cultural hoot that no one should take too seriously. Read more
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: [Gans'] reckless creation makes no sense. Read more
Ty Burr, Entertainment Weekly: This is one of those follies that go beyond pesky, bourgeois notions of 'good' and 'bad.' Read more
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Utterly preposterous but so full of enthusiasm and flashy style that it's entertaining anyway. Read more
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: A wonder of magpie postmodernism, a samurai adventure with Hong Kong action and a wry touch of American Western, all sewn into a free interpretation of Gallic history that also has its finger on the pulse of current social trends. Read more
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Pop-fantasy action films don't have to be this unendingly horrid. Read more
Rex Reed, New York Observer: A French bouillabaisse of frenetic head-bangers that defies interpretation or analysis but keeps your eyes popping and your adrenaline flowing. Read more
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Fun movie, animatronic beast and all. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Daring in its approach and successful in its result -- assuming the result is to provide pure entertainment to the viewer. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I would be lying if I did not admit that this is all, in its absurd and overheated way, entertaining. Read more
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle: Gans splices genres without shame and makes a grand effort at proving that the French can make big, boneheaded, mass-market action flicks, too. Read more
David Edelstein, Slate: Instead of fluid acrobatics, we get hyperbolic montages of kicking feet, somersaulting torsos, and fists connecting with faces. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Exhilirating viewing, at least while the feet are flying and the fangs are baring. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: With this grisly popcorn movie, we're reminded of the heavy-handed contributions that some U.S. blockbusters are making to global culture. Read more
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: It's easily the most disarming and inventive movie made for genre geeks in years. Read more
Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Gans appears to have no threshold of pain when it comes to his eardrums. Read more
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: A mad agglomeration of styles and traditions that ultimately results in nothing so much as a mad agglomeration of styles and traditions. Read more