This is a fascinating movie in many ways, not least for its partially successful elucidation of a particularly dark period in Shanghai's colourful history. However, "Shanghai" comes across all too often as a confused mish-mash of other movies - Casablanca and The Third Man both spring rather too readily to mind - while offering little of its own in the way of an original plot or any intriguing character arcs.Solid acting work all 'round. Franka Potente is probably the most watchable of the actors here, despite being less toothsome than Gong Li (who looks every bit her age in this movie but is still ravishingly attractive).There are a few intriguing glimpses of Shanghai as it might have been in the early 40s, including one particularly well-recreated crane shot of the Bund - although I have to say the ships look just a tad too close to the imposing British-built buildings lining that famous boulevard. There's another shot from inside the Cusack character's hotel room showing a few of Shanghai's classic buildings through the window, clearly digitally composited as those particular buildings could never have been viewed that way from the one vantage point. However, it seems (judging from the credits) that the vast majority of this movie was shot in Thailand, and thus most of the street scenes and interiors are fairly generic and not particularly evocative of Shanghai's history. For a much better rendition of this you need to have a look at Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" which treads similar territory (Shanghai, spies, Japanese occupation etc) with much more style.Indeed I find myself wondering why this movie was made at all, given that pretty much 100% of its thematic territory had been covered by Lee's movie just a couple of years before, and with considerably more chutzpah.Nevertheless...if you're a fan of any of these actors, it's worth a look.

Shanghai is unfortunately the kind of movie that I rarely watch, the low key spy thriller. Luckily, once in a while a movie just like Shanghai turns up and reminds me how good the genre really is. Because Shanghai is a really good, entertaining and above all an intriguing movie. It shows once again that you don't need the tempo and effects of the big blockbusters to make a really good movie. It is really all about the story.And Shanghai got a good one. Cusack plays the American agent Soames that is sent to Shanghai to investigate the murder of his best friend and fellow agent Conner. Conner seems to have fallen for the wrong girl, but Soames are convinced he was on to something big. Set in the besieged city of Shanghai during second world war (1941) the city is split between the Americans, British, Japanese and Germans. Not counting all the Chinese that are actually living there. The Japanese and Germans are allied, and has an agreement with the local branch of the triad. The Americans are supposed to be neutral, but the trail Soames is following leads to a dangerous and alluring woman, the leader of the Chinese resistance and the wife of the triad leader. So, everyone is scheming behind the others backs.Important to these low key thrillers are the cast, and for a movie set as Shanghai is, I couldn't think of a better cast. John Cusack is joined by Yun-Fat Chow, Ken Watanabe, Li Gong, David Morse, Franka Potente and Rinko Kikuchi. Most of them is severely underrated and once again gives very good performances in Shanghai.Shanghai is a modern film noire, and for me a refreshing addition to the genre. Highly recommended for anyone who doesn't need high octane explosions all the time to like a movie.8/10

The subject matter is interesting. There is suspense and action and romance. Too bad it didn't get a bigger box office release and reception. Some slight imperfections are there.The cast is good. All top notch Asian actors. Chow and Watanabe add stature. Gong Li is alluring if a little older. Cusack is a bit goofy looking but blends in to the scenes well. Heard Johnny Depp was interested probably would have been worse.The sets are bit too theatrical and lacked a little on location feel.The story is feel good old fashioned adventure romance and not irritating. Sometimes it was hard to catch some of the dialog and because of that got a bit lost. Overall worth watching.

I expected a lot with an international heavy weight cast like this one. All the way to the smallest characters are filled with great actors. The cinematography is excellent and successfully recreates the feel of 40's Shanghai, along with the a secretive atmosphere that enhances the film noir mood. The story moves at a good pace where there isn't a scene too many and you have to keep your mind working to uncover the mysteries Paul Soames is trying to solve.The excellent cast doesn't disappoint, John Cusack is solid and believable as an agent posing as a journalist. It's not hard to understand he would fall for the insanely beautiful Gong Li who seems to have found a fountain of youth somewhere. She plays the role of Anna Lan-Ting with a seductive and secretive flavor which is a joy to watch. Her husband, mob boss Anthony Lan-Ting, is being played by Hong Kong icon Chow Yun Fat who exudes charm and power but still manages to walk the fine line of a character you feel attracted to but also know you should actually stay away from. His performance adds the right amount of flair the production needs. Ken Watanabe plays out his sinister vibe along with a human grace perfectly and Jeffrey dean Morgan is believable as the friend who ended up dead.Instead of a movie about politics and war, it's more about human relations and the different side to people. How people are used and mislead at times like this, and matters of the heart play an important role in the decisions the characters make.If you are open to a movie that makes you think and wonder, you will definitely love 'Shanghai'. The only thing that I did not get into was the romance-angle between John Cusack and Gong Li.... but maybe that's how it's meant to be. It's easy to see why he would fall for her but she, on the other hand, might have a whole different agenda.