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The Paper Tigers

Play trailer 2:21 Poster for The Paper Tigers PG-13 2021 1h 48m Action Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 62 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings
Three martial artists--notorious in their prime as "the three tigers"--have grown into middle-aged men one kick from a pulled muscle. But after their teacher's murder, they must juggle dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge him.
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The Paper Tigers

The Paper Tigers

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Critics Consensus

The Paper Tigers blends action, comedy, and heart to produce a fresh martial arts movie with plenty of throwback charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Phuong Le Guardian 09/13/2021
3/5
Tran adroitly layers the fight sequences, filmed with fluidity and at least substantially performed by the main actors themselves, between frothy layers of blokey banter. Go to Full Review
Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (LAist) 05/13/2021
This is a real solid Kung Fu butt-kicker, except that it's funny in that Karate Kid and Rumble in the Bronx kind of way. Go to Full Review
David Ehrlich IndieWire 05/12/2021
B
Funniest of all is "Enter the Dojo" star Matthew Page, who seems to have made a whole career out of caricaturing the recognizable phenomenon of the white guy who turns Asian cultural appropriation into a lifestyle. Go to Full Review
Zoë Rose Bryant Next Best Picture 07/14/2022
7/10
The Paper Tigers' snappy script and endlessly engaging ensemble cast imbue the film with its own singularly stirring spirit and show that you shouldn't count out the underdog. Go to Full Review
Grace Han Asian Movie Pulse 05/25/2022
4.5/5
“The Paper Tigers” is an entertaining watch — one that is uniquely pan-Asian, but sharply American in character. Though this feature may not keep you on the edge of your seat, it at least will make you laugh — and maybe even cry. Go to Full Review
Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope 05/20/2022
B
The actors bring The Three Tigers alive in a very convincing way. Their emotional journeys are at the very heart of this film, along with the code of conduct they have sworn to follow. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Kathleen I 06/07/2021 It was just an enjoyable movie See more John W. 05/23/2021 action, story, characters... everything was good about this movie. glad we went. See more Angelica 05/13/2021 Funny, held my attention throughout, good action, good acting. It was a nice, entertaining movie you can watch with family, friends or even alone. Worth the visit to the theater. See more stefiam 05/09/2021 Started off well but rapidly became predictable and lazy. Good acting performances overall a bit overwrought on the part of the villains. Not a waste but a miss. See more deannabushcharternet L 05/08/2021 A little slow but overall, ok movie. See more Allen C 05/07/2021 What an outstanding evening! My sons and I saw the new movie "The Paper Tigers!" One son heard about the new movie on the radio. The commentary was that the movie was not a "sell out" and kept to the original story and actors. He told me about it on Tuesday and I ordered the tickets on Fandango. His Intuition was right on the money. This was an outstanding movie! Full of laughs, good comedy and great action. It hits on so many good points about the martial arts world. The difficulty of training. The sparring and challenges. The super abilities that youth have. The reality of not keeping up with training. How life, family situations and work get in the way of our past training. Lost bonds and rekindled friendships. Train or lose it. Honor, Kung-Fu family, respect and responsibility. So many key points. Even the filming was great. I couldn't remember parts of Seattle that looked so good. See more Read all reviews
The Paper Tigers

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Movie Info

Synopsis Three martial artists--notorious in their prime as "the three tigers"--have grown into middle-aged men one kick from a pulled muscle. But after their teacher's murder, they must juggle dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge him.
Director
Quoc Bao Tran
Producer
Michael Velasquez, Yuji Okumoto, Al'n Duong, Dan Gildark, Quoc Bao Tran
Screenwriter
Quoc Bao Tran
Distributor
Well Go USA Entertainment
Production Co
Beimo Films, Persistence of Vision Films (I)
Rating
PG-13 (Offensive Slurs|Violence|Some Strong Language)
Genre
Action, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 7, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 7, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$112.7K
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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