50
The movie is occasionally muddled and always melodramatic, yet it's pictorially compelling, thanks to dramatic locations and exacting art direction.
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What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
The most interesting threads aren't political but personal, with a melodramatic romance providing some well-earned tears. Your final thoughts, however, are likely to concern Jennifer Tilly, who's so bizarrely miscast as a severe missionary that her presence becomes its own distraction.
60
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
This weirdly engaging tale of banking and bad behavior makes 19th-century China look uncomfortably like 21st-century America.
70
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Has enough going for it to make it likely worth the effort for fans of Asian cinema, but it does seem an opportunity missed.
50
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
It's decent, exoticized pulp with a porcelain veneer, and should be consumed idly.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
Epic in sweep and scale and packs in enough incident to cover two "Godfather" movies.
38
Slant Magazine by Nick Schager
From overwrought flashbacks of Third Master and Madame Kang's initial meetings (and sexual encounter), to the present-day arguments and maneuverings of Lord Kang, Empire of Silver is so determined to stage its material with reverence that it embalms any flickers of passion or tension.
50
Boxoffice Magazine by Pam Grady
An historical drama so swamped by its soap opera crescendos, no resonant story can survive the wet.