77
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Screen DailyJonathan RomneyScreen DailyJonathan RomneyLiu Jian’s animation Have a Nice Day is at once a bloodthirsty genre thriller; a political statement about China, globalization and capitalism; and a vibrantly witty piece of postmodern pop art.
- 90The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisLeisurely and deliberate, intelligent and casually cruel, Have a Nice Day is a stone-cold gangster thriller whose violence unfolds in passionless bursts.
- 83The Film StageRory O'ConnorThe Film StageRory O'ConnorIt might not quite end on a satisfying note, but Have a Nice Day remains an urgent, thoroughly entertaining, and inventive piece of filmmaking.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijLike in any good genre yarn, there are a lot of unexpected twists and turns as characters run into each other — often quite literally and sometimes even with their vehicles — in the desperate hope of getting their hands on the money.
- 80VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangLiu’s storyline may be a slight and generic madcap gangster/hitman/thief movie, but the details of aesthetic design and character interaction flesh it out into something a little more wittily resonant, if not exactly deep. The pointed inventiveness of the carefully premeditated form doesn’t just compensate for the banality of the content, it becomes the content.
- 80Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonWall Street JournalJohn AndersonIt’s a story that doesn’t quite follow the money. The money is a maguffin, as per Hitchcock.
- 75Slant MagazineWes GreeneSlant MagazineWes GreeneThe film's pale-hued, Flash-like animation is abundant in detailed backgrounds that make the characters stand out like placards, allowing for Jian's critique of modern China to land with maximum force.
- 75The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyLiu is clearly inspired by live-action filmmakers (the Coen brothers and the Japanese actor-director Takeshi Kitano are acknowledged influences), but his casual side trips into the fantastic—say, an extended daydream sequence that’s part parody of Cultural Revolution propaganda, part karaoke video—can only work in drawing.
- 70Village VoiceBilge EbiriVillage VoiceBilge EbiriThe surprisingly vibrant, hand-drawn images of Have a Nice Day revitalize the story’s more tired elements. It may not give us anything new, but Jian Liu’s film looks lovely and, at 77 minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome. And sometimes that’s enough.