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Movies / On DVD / Finishing the Game
Finishing the Game

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Finishing the Game (2007)

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Reviews Counted:34

Fresh:12

Rotten:22

Average Rating:4.8/10

Consensus: Though Justin Lin's premise is precocious enough, the sight gags and comic timing are tired in this mockumentary about Asian typecasting in the 1970s.

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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
[More]

Starring: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Meredith Scott Lynn, McCaleb Burnett

Starring: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Meredith Scott Lynn, McCaleb Burnett, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Mousa Kraish, Dustin Nguyen

Director: Justin Lin

Director: Justin Lin
Screenwriter: Josh Diamond, Justin Lin
Producer: Julie Asato, Salvador Gatdula, Justin Lin
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for Finishing the Game

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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You can easily tell how great a time everyone is having, and it's infectious.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/28/08
Don Willmott
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com

This tedious mockumentary isn't even as entertaining as one of Ed Wood's actual films, and once-promising director Justin Lin has some karma to square for fumbling such a sure thing.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
11/16/07
Mark Rahner
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times

What exactly he's trying to say about Bruce Lee's fame and impact or the banal reality of genre moviemaking is unclear at best.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/15/07
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The pace is flat, the celebrity cameos go nowhere, and the smugness of Lin's observations of Asian-Americans and Hollywood smothers the comedy.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
11/09/07
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Misses more comic targets than it hits.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
11/08/07
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

There's about five minutes of funny in Finishing the Game, which leaves 83 minutes of "Oh, that same joke again, huh?"

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/01/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Finishing the Game serves up a kick-ass comedy about a dead martial arts star, starving actors and the Hollywood system.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
10/26/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Intermittently funny at best, but mostly full of dead air.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/26/07
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
10/25/07
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

[T]here's little intriguing or surprising...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
10/25/07
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

... too thin to sustain itself, even at a modest 83 minutes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
10/24/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

A very funny, equal-opportunity broadside that targets Asian stereotyping, and not just by non-Asians.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/19/07
David Wiegand
David Wiegand
San Francisco Chronicle

The premise was so golden and in front of our noses for so long, it’s amazing that is has taken this long for someone to do it. I’m still upset that it wasn’t me.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
10/19/07
Jeff Wong
Jeff Wong
Film Threat

It's a wasted idea.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/18/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The main reason that I didn't like Justin Lin's new film Finishing the Game is because I wasn't sure at any time what he was trying to make...

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
10/09/07
Todd Gilchrist
Todd Gilchrist
IGN Movies

Besmirching Bruce Lee's name like this should be a punishable offense.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
10/08/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

What little potential there is ends up squandered within nanoseconds; as both a parody and a polemic, the film is finished before it’s barely begun.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
10/06/07
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

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.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/05/07
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Call it a comic documentary, a true-life comedy, or a Hollywood satire, but however you karate chop this one, it's a kicky, clever, highly amusing romp.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
10/05/07
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Reel.com

Finishing The Game doesn't get anywhere that Hollywood Shuffle didn't go to first.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
10/05/07
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
AV Club
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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