Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

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Generally favorable reviews- based on 73 Ratings

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  • Starring: , ,
  • Summary: Picking up where "In the Mood for Love" left off, 2046 is a visually seductive reverie of memory and regret, refracted through a serial womanizer's experiences with six women. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 34
  2. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Filmed to perfection by the great Christopher Doyle and others.
  2. A riot of sight and sound that, however baffling, has an irresistible, elemental pull.
  3. 91
    One of those undeniably beautiful things. The film is, in fact, an encyclopedia of beauty -- the beauty of desire, the beauty of nostalgia, the beauty of music and clothing and smoke and pain, and, chiefly, the beauty of women.
  4. 80
    Just as memorable and emotionally intense as any of Wong's films. It's a mood as much as a movie.
  5. Only a master director could make such a beautifully flawed film.
  6. 63
    Since it is by Wong Kar Wai, 2046 is visually stunning. He uses three cinematographers but one style, that tries to evoke mood more than meaning. The movie as a whole, unfortunately, never seems sure of itself. It's like a sketchbook. These are images, tones, dialogue and characters that Wong is sure of, and he practices them, but he does not seem very sure why he is making the movie, or where it should end.
  7. It takes what could be called the Chinese equivalent of chutzpah to make a movie with three of the world's most beautiful and talented women -- Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi -- and to be more interested in the male character.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 32
  2. Negative: 9 out of 32
  1. KrisB.
    Jan 2, 2006
    I always go into an asian movie expecting unrealistic characters and strange, other-worldly plots. 2046 changed my views on that. This is maybe the classiest present day movie i have ever seen. The characters were incredibly realistic considering this is a heavy-duty romance, and the mood was incredibly intoxicating when combined with the score and soundtrack. Incredible. Now i have to try and track down In the Mood for Love. Stupid Blockbuster doesn't even carry it. Expand
  2. TomH.
    Mar 9, 2006
    Quite possibly Wong Kar Wai's greatest, most personal film to date. 2046 can be viewed similarly to Adaptation, of the constant struggle between life and art, one imitating (or inspiring?) the other. Goregous, romantic, but overwhelmingly nostalgiac and tragic, 2046 is one of the best films 2005 has to offer. Expand
  3. GlennL
    Nov 14, 2009
    2046 has so much truth in it, that hit hits almost to close to home for many people. For first time viewers, the plot with Wong Kar-wai is easier to follow if you realizes he has 2 (some might argue 4) stories running together. So that is a lot of "plot" to keep track of unless you really pay attention (it took several viewings or me to grasp it all). One story (the main one) is with Faye Wong, and the Japanese boyfriend; the second is with Zhang Ziyi. The third is Maggie Cheun (link to In the Mood for Love), and the fourth is with In the Days of Being Wild, Carina Lau. In fact the sequel to Days of Being Wild (which was never done) is quickly recapped using Carina's characters. So that is a lot to follow. This a wonderfully filmed with just outstanding music .. the soundtrack is extremely good, I recommend it. It is also noteworthy to not see 2046 as a sequel to the movies it's obviously linked too -- but more an "echo" as Wong Kar-wai has said. Also, all the stories DO come together at the end very nicely. Expand
  4. JeffJ.
    Sep 16, 2005
    Just short of a classic. Parts of this movie are so brilliant that they seem like a reinvention of the whole concept of movie making. The first third, in particular, is breathtaking. The way the whole screen is used to compose the shots, the way the camera lingers on someone's facial reactions, the lighting and sound -- it's all masterful. It's well worth seeing it just for the technique. Unfortunately, it kind of slows down and dissipates in the last half, and left me somewhat lost. I simply didn't feel any connection with the main character, who never seems to make up his mind what to do. What does he really feel? Maybe there was some kind of cultural signal that I missed. Still, Wong Kar Wai is clearly one of the great directors, and the talent is dripping off the screen. Oh, and there are lots of gorgeous women in it, too. Who cares if it doesn't make complete sense? See it. Collapse
  5. MarcK.
    Aug 31, 2005
    It seems that all the "great" Chinese films released in America are aesthetically stunning, but short on substance. Add "2046" to this list, along with the fascinating "Millenium Mambo" and the not-so-good "Hero." Zhang Ziyi is a goddess, and this is the best performance of her young career. If/When she learns to speak English (and I read that she's doing that) she will become one of the most well-known and talented international film stars out there. Expand
  6. thewiseking
    Feb 6, 2006
    painfully tedious. this not very stylish (the sets are cliched blade runneresque dated versions of 80s futurism) faux noir soporific mess should be avoided. Expand
  7. Oct 31, 2011
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the WORST, TERRIBLE AND DONE NOTHING MOVIE! I just saw the actor talking and talking and done nothing. If I were the director, i'll rewrite and recolor 'em. This movie talk nonsense and nothing just nothing blank. Just like a rotten egg without yolk, the other foreign people wouldn't understand what're they talking about, But I knew Chinese, i know this movie talking about nothing. if i were the critic, i Gave 'em an 'F' negative 100. Go to Hell.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Expand

See all 32 User Reviews