--- title: "Chungking Express: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/chungking-express/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/chungking-express" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chungking Express (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 9 reviews: 8 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 1995. The film offers a cosmopolitan, inside view of Hong Kong through fast food, glamour and new wave style, centering on two lovelorn cops and women in a bustling snack bar and Chungking Mansions. It is praised as the director's most distinctive work yet, with dynamic handheld camerawork and an off-the-cuff, improvisational energy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1995/sep/14/1) ## Time Out — TR Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2011. The critic describes two loosely connected stories of lovelorn Hong Kong cops entangled with the wrong women—one involving a drug smuggler and another a woman secretly redecorating an apartment. It praises the film as fast, hand-held, funny, catchy, and the year’s zingiest visit to Heartbreak Hotel. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/chungking-express-1) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 1996. Wong’s film is as fresh as falling rain, a pair of love stories full of pain and humor that exude the immediacy of everyday life through fluid camerawork, bold color, and American pop music. It showcases unpredictable style akin to Tarantino and Jarmusch, with strong performances and a larger view on fate and missed connections. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-08-ca-44392-story.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2025. The critic calls Chungking Express one of Wong’s most exciting films and an early precursor to his signature romantic odes, praising its bifurcated narrative, hazy dreamlike visuals with slow motion and step printing, and the way it evokes love’s excitement and heartbreak through imagery, music, and impermanent romance rather than dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/chungking-express-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-wong-kar-wai/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic praises this elliptical essay on love and mystery from Wong Kar-Wai as a joy to watch. They single out the director's dreamlike tone and Chris Doyle's stunning cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/chungking-express-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3/4. 15 March 1996. The film works if you appreciate its style over plot, announcing Wong as a Godard-like director concerned with the materials of storytelling rather than conventional narrative. It may puzzle casual viewers but rewards attention to its visual rhythms, pop culture references, and fractured stories of lonely urbanites. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chungking-express-1996) ## Variety — Derek Elley Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 August 1994. Festival review. The hip, neo-’60s nostalgic film delights cinephiles as a quicksilver tour through young loners’ lives, with energy, loopy humor, and an enjoyable cruise quality despite not matching Wong’s more ambitious works. The second story stands out for its engaging performances and wide-eyed charm. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/chungking-express-1200438172/) ## Film Comment — Robert Horton Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 1994. Festival review. The critic finds Chungking Express outpaces other festival entries with its split narrative and energetic style but notes that its interesting situations do not fully justify a feature-length film. The second half, featuring a daydreamy clerk tidying a customer's apartment, stands out as a winning vignette. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/festivals-new-york-1994/) ## Den of Geek — N P Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 June 2010. The piece presents Chungking Express as a groundbreaking work that opened up new possibilities for cinematic storytelling through its visual poetry, jump cuts, and non-linear structure. It singles out the film's kinetic energy, use of pop music, and thematic depth around time and identity for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/world-cinema-trans-global-film-watching/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/chungking-express.md