Mortensen comes through with another haunting performance that mixes the cerebral with the physical.
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12/19/09
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The Road (2009)
72
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:136
Fresh:98
Rotten:38
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: The Road's commitment to Cormac McCarthy's dark vision may prove too unyielding for some, but the film benefits from hauntingly powerful performances from Viggo Mortensen and Kodi McPhee.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Nov 25, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $4,926,949
Synopsis: After the Oscar-winning success of the adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, another of the author's works arrives on screen. Viggo Mortensen stars in THE ROAD, a thriller... [More]
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce
Director: John Hillcoat
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Reviews for The Road
The Road is a heavy load to bare for the casual movie fan. Unless of course, that movie fan likes drinking with the lights off, full-moon Russian Roulette or confuses the Sunday funnies with the obituaries.
12/19/09
A very fine film that somehow manages to attain only a fraction of the heart-rending power of its grim source.
12/18/09
Grim beyond belief and almost beyond endurance, 'The Road' is one of the most depressing "apocalypse" movies ever made.
12/17/09
What was poetic and spare on the page has become monotonous and oppressive on the screen.
12/17/09
The concussive soundscape rumbles like thunder in the distance. And the film's episodic terseness is the poetry of cataclysm, in a language that needs no translation.
12/17/09
Obviously, it's not really a pleasant cinematic experience, despite the quality of its filmmaking and performances. It's worthwhile for its character development and its examination of morality and survival behavior, though.
12/17/09
Like its protagonists, the movie is implacable and unyielding, and may very well break you down.
12/16/09
The muffled air, the rumbling tectonic murmurs, the groaning and incessant tree deaths, sounds of other humans, all these sounds sell the monochromatic but still stunning images of a completely dying world
12/15/09
The end of civilization in The Road is ugly and terrifying, but that makes the father and son's hope and faith so much stronger.
12/12/09
Filmed as if dictated by Jehovah but ultimately boasting only a fraction of the artistic value of, say, Terminator: Salvation
12/08/09
Hopelessly muddled narratively, with one foot trapped in a more conventional American Hollywood narrative, and the other rooted in a more esoteric European arthouse aesthetic.
12/08/09
For all the desperation and tragedy, then, the film offers a kind of heroism, set against a frankly grim but also frequently poetic backdrop.
12/08/09
This film is worth seeing for the performances from Mortensen and gifted adolescent actor Smit-McPhee.
12/04/09
A powerful and devastating adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel.
12/04/09
One of the grimmest end-of-the-world movies in recent memory.
12/03/09
It's a beautiful, harrowing story and a good film. I'm just worried it's not good enough considering its potential.
12/03/09
Hillcoat certainly provides the requisite seriousness, but what the movie lacks is an underlying sense of innocence, a sense that, however far humanity has sunk, there is at least some chance of rising again.
12/02/09
Top CriticIn attempting to realize McCarthy's vision of the planet in chaos, Hillcoat delves so deeply into his source material that he loses sight of the audience.
12/01/09
'The Road' is a courageous road picture and an unnerving dystopian epic, but with great moments of horror, love, and adventure.
12/01/09
Latest News for The Road
November 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
This week at the movies, we've got martial arts mayhem (Ninja Assassin, starring Rain and Naomie Harris); family-friendly hi jinks (Old Dogs, starring John Travolta and Robin... More...
October 02, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster
More...
September 22, 2009:
Viggo Mortensen Dismisses Retirement Rumors, Talks The Road
With the long-delayed "The Road" finally reaching theaters in a few weeks, Viggo Mortensen might have one of the year's best movies on his hands -- and despite rumors of his... More...
September 08, 2009:
Up in the Air, The Road Impress at Telluride
"Up in the Air" generated applause, "The Road" brought people to tears, and "Paranormal Activity" scared them half to death. This year's Telluride Film Festival is on the books,... More...
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