Charlotte Simmons The Treatment (Substack) Mar 8, 2026

I’m not certain that Shadow can be spoken about in any way that isn’t at least mildly reductive

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Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Feb 12, 2022 4/4

Palace intrigue and ornate martial arts duels are just the surface of Shadow, Zhang Yimou's stunning 2018 period epic of doppelgangers, zither duets, double-crosses, and monochrome colors splattered with blood.

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Carolyn Hinds Atom Insider Jul 30, 2021

The fight choreography in the third act is unique and beautiful.

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Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Oct 15, 2020

Building rather slowly towards climactic action, this is a corpse-strewn sort of Jacobean revenge drama, its violence staged with considerable panache.

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Andrew Heskins easternKicks.com Sep 23, 2020 4/5

With the colour palette of an ink wash painting, Zhang Yimou creates one of the most memorable wuxias in years...

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Andrew Gaudion VultureHound Aug 28, 2020 4/5

A politically driven, exceptionally lavish historical drama that represents Zhang at his most visually poetic.

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Kelechi Ehenulo Confessions From A Geek Mind Aug 27, 2020 3/5

Yimou Zhang once again reminds us of his trademark beauty, and Shadow is a significant return to form.

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Luke Gorham In Review Online Jul 30, 2020

Zhang proves that, operating in this vibrant, superficial mode, he's still capable of generating the requisite thrills.

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Yasser Medina Cinefilia Jul 28, 2020 7/10

Zhang Yimou's new wuxia epic, titled 'Shadow', represents for my taste in martial arts, a fascinating film that never ceases to amaze me throughout the journey with its plot of loyalty, betrayal and power. [Full review in Spanish]

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Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See Jun 30, 2020 C

While pretty and grand, and the idea of a historical epic from the director of "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" sounds like a great concept, "Shadow" falls flat and cold.

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CJ Sheu The News Lens International Jun 27, 2020

The film's message seems to be that absolute power corrupts absolutely, making it a veiled critique of China's current leader.

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Dan Schindel Hyperallergic Feb 25, 2020

This heightened atmosphere sets the perfect tone for the story, which is rife with scheming, torqued emotion, and of course, incredible fight scenes.

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Tim Brayton Alternate Ending Jan 30, 2020 4/5

It has the goods, both as spectacle and as an enjoyable dense political thriller.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Jan 7, 2020 B+

f you like sword fights you should like this wuxia film despite its confusing palace intrigues.

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M.V. Moorhead Phoenix Magazine Jan 7, 2020

There's a certain traditional type of ink finger-painting in China that director Zhang Yimou's new movie evokes to seductive perfection.

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Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse Dec 25, 2019

Not much more to say, "Shadow" is one of the greatest wuxia films of all time, an audiovisual poem and overall, a true masterpiece.

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Grant Watson Fiction Machine Nov 18, 2019 10/10

It is a creative and aesthetic masterpiece.

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Katie Smith-Wong Flick Feast Nov 11, 2019 2/5

Overall, Shadow is as stunning as Yimou's recent filmography but the numerous complexities make the story unnecessarily confusing.

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Ard Vijn ScreenAnarchy Sep 16, 2019 8/10

At times, Shadow is a feast of sound and vision.

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Evan Dossey Midwest Film Journal Aug 16, 2019

Intrigue drawn in ink.

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