The Paper Tigers

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2:21

The Paper Tigers

PG-13

Released May 7, 2021

1h 48m

Action

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

98%

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62 Reviews

93%

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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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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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Phuong Le

Guardian

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.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 13, 2021

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

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.

May 13, 2021

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David Ehrlich

indieWire

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.

Rated: B

May 12, 2021

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Zoë Rose Bryant

Next Best Picture

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.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 14, 2022

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Grace Han

Asian Movie Pulse

“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.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 25, 2022

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

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.

Rated: B

May 20, 2022

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Kathleen I

It was just an enjoyable movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/07/21

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John W.

action, story, characters... everything was good about this movie. glad we went.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/23/21

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Angelica

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/13/21

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stefiam

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/10/21

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deannabushcharternet L

A little slow but overall, ok movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/30/21

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Allen C

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/21

Full Review

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Quoc Bao Tran

Director

Alain Uy

Danny

Ron Yuan

Hing

Mykel Shannon Jenkins

Jim

Jae Suh Park

Caryn

Raymond Ma

Sifu Wong

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The Paper Tigers: Trailer 1

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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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