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Movies / In Theaters / The Road
The Road

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The Road (2009)

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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] for some violence, disturbing images and language

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... 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 that is set in a bare, post-apocalyptic America, where a father and son struggle to survive. Director John Hillcoat previously teamed with star Guy Pearce on the critically acclaimed Western THE PROPOSITION. [More]

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall

Director: John Hillcoat

Director: John Hillcoat
Screenwriter: Joe Penhall
Producer: Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz
Composer: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for The Road

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Mortensen comes through with another haunting performance that mixes the cerebral with the physical.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
12/19/09
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

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.

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
12/19/09
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

A very fine film that somehow manages to attain only a fraction of the heart-rending power of its grim source.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
12/18/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Grim beyond belief and almost beyond endurance, 'The Road' is one of the most depressing "apocalypse" movies ever made.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
12/17/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

What was poetic and spare on the page has become monotonous and oppressive on the screen.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
12/17/09
William Goss
William Goss
Orlando Weekly

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.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
12/17/09
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
12/17/09
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Like its protagonists, the movie is implacable and unyielding, and may very well break you down.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
12/16/09
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

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

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
12/15/09
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

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.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
12/12/09
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Filmed as if dictated by Jehovah but ultimately boasting only a fraction of the artistic value of, say, Terminator: Salvation

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
12/08/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

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.

Full Review Source: Shared Darkness | comment Comment
12/08/09
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Shared Darkness

For all the desperation and tragedy, then, the film offers a kind of heroism, set against a frankly grim but also frequently poetic backdrop.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
12/08/09
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

This film is worth seeing for the performances from Mortensen and gifted adolescent actor Smit-McPhee.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/04/09
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

A powerful and devastating adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
12/04/09
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

One of the grimmest end-of-the-world movies in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
12/03/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

It's a beautiful, harrowing story and a good film. I'm just worried it's not good enough considering its potential.

Full Review Source: Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) | comment Comment
12/03/09
Gina Carbone
Gina Carbone
Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine)

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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 7 Comments
12/02/09
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In 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.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
12/01/09
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Movieline

'The Road' is a courageous road picture and an unnerving dystopian epic, but with great moments of horror, love, and adventure.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/01/09
Frank Wilkins
Frank Wilkins
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
 
 
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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 Opens in new window
More...

September 22, 2009: Viggo Mortensen Dismisses Retirement Rumors, Talks The Road Opens in new window
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 Opens in new window
"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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