---
title: "The Eight Hundred: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-eight-hundred/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-eight-hundred"
critics_score: 59
critics_reviews: 8
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."
---

# The Eight Hundred (2020): what the critics said

Critics' score 59 from 8 reviews: 3 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative.

The reviews are divided, with praise clustering around the scale and staging of the combat rather than the soldiers themselves. Several critics find the battle sequences gripping, brutal and clearly organised, even when the wider story feels crowded. The shifts between large-scale action and quieter passages earn approval, as does the cinematography. The more favourable reviews find enough force in the warehouse siege to carry its sprawling cast and political detours.

The main reservations concern thin characterisation, uneven pacing and nationalism, with verdicts ranging from enthusiastic to strongly negative. Variety finds the film emotionally compelling despite its crowded storytelling, while other reviews describe spectacle that offers too little character depth. The Los Angeles Times objects particularly to the nationalism and treatment of martyrdom, while acknowledging the appeal of the combat spectacle. The disagreement is substantial: technical accomplishment draws fairly broad respect, but emotional impact and political emphasis divide the critics.

## Variety — Maggie Lee

Rating Critics Pick. 26 August 2020. 

Lee finds the war epic imposing and emotionally compelling, though its sprawling cast and political detours sometimes weigh it down. She praises the propulsive opening battle sequence for conveying the rookies’ disorientation and the brutality of combat.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/the-eight-hundred-review-ba-bai-the-800-1234747527/)

## Radio Times — Jamie Healy

Rating 4/5. 

Healy gives the film a positive four-star verdict. He singles out its epic siege premise, with Chinese soldiers defending a warehouse against successive attacks.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-61zn8b/the-eight-hundred/)

## Empire — Ian Freer

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2020. 

Freer finds the film sprawling and overstuffed, but consistently gripping. He praises its epic scale and its skillful shifts between spectacular action and quieter moments.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-eight-hundred/)

## Screen Daily — John Berra

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2020. 

The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is not visible in the accessible text. No specific praise or complaint can be determined from the available content.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-eight-hundred-review/5153308.article)

## The Guardian — Cath Clarke

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2020. 

Clarke finds the war epic thrilling but emotionally thin. She praises its breathtaking, thunderous battle scenes while faulting the lack of character depth and the assaultive score.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/16/the-eight-hundred-review-chinese-alamo-warehouse-regiment-shangai-war)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Elizabeth Kerr

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2020. 

Kerr finds the war epic technically impressive but ultimately short of glory. She praises its clear, gruesome battle sequences and striking cinematography, while faulting its thin characterization and rote war-film clichés.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-eight-hundred-babai-film-review-4051304/)

## Los Angeles Times — Michael Ordoña

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2020. 

Ordoña finds the film’s nationalism and fetishized martyrdom troubling, while acknowledging its appeal as a large-scale war spectacle. He criticizes its thinly developed characters and meandering pacing.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-09-16/review-chinas-eight-hundred-heroes-face-overwhelming-odds-historical-war-blockbuster)

## Sight and Sound — BFI

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 17 September 2020. 

The review finds the film bombastic and resolutely neo-nationalist, though it acknowledges some surprises in its character focus. It praises the staging of how people across the river shift from curiosity to support, while criticizing the subtitles’ anachronistic slang.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/eight-hundred-guan-hu-si-hang-warehouse-siege-battle-shanghai-anti-japan-nationalism)

---
© 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/the-eight-hundred.md