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FORMOSA BETRAYEDMovie Reviews
Period thriller set in the 1980s about an American FBI agent who travels to Taiwan to investigate the Chicago murder of a Taiwanese-American professor and independence advocate. Cast:James Van Der Beek, John Heard, Leslie Hope, Wendy Crewson, Tzi MaDirector:Adam KaneRelease Date:February 26, 2010DVD Release:May 25, 2010From:Screen Media FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr. 43 min.
Formosa Betrayed played in key cities to fair reviews. • Tirdad Derakhshani wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...a ho-hum college history lecture about modern Taiwan awkwardly disguised as a political thriller, has its heart almost in the right place." • And Tricia Olszewski wrote in the Washington City Paper, "...strains to elicit outrage but instead comes across as a messy bore." More Reviews Below...
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a political thriller with an agenda.... it begins rather awkwardly, but ends by making a statement that explains a great many things."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 633 words, 03/18/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...has dual agendas that collide more readily than they mesh... partly a tutorial...partly a clumsy cloak-and-dagger political thriller."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 02/26/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "Only viewers wondering if James Van Der Beek has finally outgrown 'Dawson's Creek' will be at all satisfied... contains good history lessons and bad TV-cop-show drama."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 94 words, 02/26/10
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: FAIR "Director Adam Kane tries to keep things moving apace but is undermined by the film's jarring, time-hopping structure and a clunky use of Taiwanese archival footage..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 02/26/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "Propaganda masquerading as an action thriller... a tedious excuse for lengthy tirades against Chiang Kai-shek delivered by the film's producer and co-writer, Will Tiao..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 131 words, 02/26/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a political thriller with an agenda.... it begins rather awkwardly, but ends by making a statement that explains a great many things."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 633 words, 03/18/10
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Neither the investigation nor the suspense (hobbled by editorializing) have much impact.... plays like secret-history tourism, complete with archival footage..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 221 words, 02/24/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...a history lesson dressed up as an action movie.... there are worse ways to learn a thing or two about foreign-policy intrigue during the waning years of the Cold War."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 571 words, 04/02/10
Roselyn Kelada-sedra, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Van Der Beek delivers clichés with sincerity.... The script gives some sense of Taiwan's brutal fight for democracy, but a bit more historical context would help."(See all of Roselyn Kelada-sedra's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 04/08/10
KEY CITIES (8 Reviews)
Jen Chaney, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...forces us to swallow what increasingly feels like a heaping spoonful of preachy medicine. And side effects may indeed include drowsiness."(See all of Jen Chaney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 721 words, 04/02/10
Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...a ho-hum college history lecture about modern Taiwan awkwardly disguised as a political thriller, has its heart almost in the right place."(See all of Tirdad Derakhshani's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 252 words, 04/02/10
Janice Page, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has enough suspense and intrigue to pull viewers along willingly. It doesn't try too hard, which is refreshing.... as a history lesson, the film is a decent primer."(See all of Janice Page's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 574 words, 02/26/10
Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a passionate labor of love that pointedly criticizes the U.S. government's failure to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation, independent of mainland China."(See all of Jeff Shannon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 343 words, 04/09/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "A sturdy political thriller... laudable for adding the voice of native Formosans to the usual two-sided debate that reaches the American media."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 04/16/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: FAIR(cg) "...obviously heartfelt but somewhat stilted and disjointed... might play well with people caught up in the politics of the time. Others, not so much."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 03/19/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "The movie unquestionably achieves its goal of illuminating the audience: Whether or not it also manages to entertain is more debatable."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 287 words, 04/23/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Neither the investigation nor the suspense (hobbled by editorializing) have much impact.... plays like secret-history tourism, complete with archival footage..."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 221 words, 02/24/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "...a clumsy political thriller whose only purpose is to remind the willfully ignorant that all was not rosy during the Reagan years."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 156 words, 02/25/10
Roselyn Kelada-sedra, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Van Der Beek delivers clichés with sincerity.... The script gives some sense of Taiwan's brutal fight for democracy, but a bit more historical context would help."(See all of Roselyn Kelada-sedra's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 04/08/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: POOR "...strains to elicit outrage but instead comes across as a messy bore.... Why 'Formosa Betrayed' didn't go straight to DVD is a mystery of Rosebud proportions."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 04/01/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a sturdy entry in the paranoid-thriller genre, and raises some interesting issues about our relationship with the country we used to call China."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 152 words, 02/26/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...has dual agendas that collide more readily than they mesh... partly a tutorial...partly a clumsy cloak-and-dagger political thriller."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 02/26/10
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "Director Adam Kane tries to keep things moving apace but is undermined by the film's jarring, time-hopping structure and a clunky use of Taiwanese archival footage..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 02/26/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a decent political thriller... Debuting feature director Adam King (vet of TV episodes and d.p. gigs) keeps things slick and entertaining enough, if not particularly inspired."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 487 words, 09/09/09
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...straightforward... Director Adam Kane's refusal to exaggerate the drama's sweep is commendable... But the film's bare-bones expository approach is also a detriment..."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 559 words, 02/23/10
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "Director Adam Kane tries to keep things moving apace but is undermined by the film's jarring, time-hopping structure and a clunky use of Taiwanese archival footage..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 02/26/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...has dual agendas that collide more readily than they mesh... partly a tutorial...partly a clumsy cloak-and-dagger political thriller."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 02/26/10
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a sturdy entry in the paranoid-thriller genre, and raises some interesting issues about our relationship with the country we used to call China."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 152 words, 02/26/10
14.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Formosa Betrayed's reviews are separated by an average 14.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Formosa Betrayed (23 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Formosa Betrayed's reviews cover 24.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 8,135 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 354 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 8 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Formosa Betrayed's reviews on average broke 8 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Formosa Betrayed's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Formosa Betrayed (23 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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