The Sparring Partner

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1:51

The Sparring Partner

2022

2h 15m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Based on actual events: in 2013, Henry Cheung collaborated with a friend to murder and dismember his parents. While the case may have looked simple on the surface, the truth proved to be increasingly difficult to untangle. As the defendants take on the distinct personas of the scheming genius and the naïve, simple-minded victim of circumstances, the nine jury members must wrestle with their own conceptions of right and wrong as two men's lives lay in the balance.

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

12/09/2022

3.5/4

A pulpy and engrossing courtroom thriller.

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

11/16/2022

3/5

A clever film that’s at least 30 minutes too long, and gets bogged down by its big themes of guilt and justice.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

04/01/2023

Even though The Sparring Partner has a total running time that is a little too long, it's still a gripping true crime drama that gives a memorable portrait of a twisted killer's mind. The movie serves as a warning about a sociopath's personality traits.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

12/22/2022

B

Challenging crime story.

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Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

12/13/2022

3.5/5

The level of detail is riveting, even if the film feels both rushed and overlong.

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

12/08/2022

A taut, intense and gritty crime thriller, but overlong and occasionally heavy-handed.

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Carol Y

@RT34569668 07/29/2023

Like many HK movies, they always make the story indirect, redundant, and then find ways to ruin the story at the ending. Despite it is based on a true story, the characters in the films contradicted themselves. It's funny how one of the juries mentioned a "shaving story" that making things simple means more, ironically, but the director did not understand the assignment by adding unnecessary conflicts and scenes at the end of the movie to dim the story and confuse viewers for an additional 30 mins. You kind of wonder if the movie was trying to sympathize the second offender or try to throw shade at him, even though he is found not guilty in real life. It seems like the director wants viewers to see him as the mastermind and a villain after all these years. It's also annoying and unnecessary to compare the prime killer to Hitler and derailing the story a little. However, the acting for some of the cast was top-notched and feel natural without exaggeration, unlike many HK movies I have watched.

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Dick C

@Joshua19930826 02/28/2023

It's a very good HK movie, The Sparring Partner 正義迴廊, 2022...basing on a Family Tragedy actual case, Murder of Glory Chau and Moon Siu...

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Cheuk Tin Ho

Director

Yeung Wai-lun

Actor

Pui Tung Mak

Actor

Louisa So

Actor

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Actor

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The Sparring Partner: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Based on actual events: in 2013, Henry Cheung collaborated with a friend to murder and dismember his parents. While the case may have looked simple on the surface, the truth proved to be increasingly difficult to untangle. As the defendants take on the distinct personas of the scheming genius and the naïve, simple-minded victim of circumstances, the nine jury members must wrestle with their own conceptions of right and wrong as two men's lives lay in the balance.

Director: Cheuk Tin Ho
Producer: Philip Yung
Screenwriter: Frankie Tam, Oliver Yip, Thomas Leung
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Production Co: Mei Ah Films Production, Film Development Fund of Hong Kong
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 2022, Limited
Runtime: 2h 15m

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