'The Grandmaster' Movie Review: A Sloppy and Dramatically Inert Biopic With a Strong Turn From Ziyi Zhang & an Abundance of Visual Panache and Pageantry

Lovers of martial arts cinema will undoubtedly find a great deal to admire, especially Zhang's riveting performance that gives this rather icy film a powerfully beating heart. However, the ultimate result is a sloppy cinematic experience that seems to be in search of an identity that becomes more and more elusive as it moves toward its anti-climactic finale.