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Reviews Counted:68
Fresh:24
Rotten:44
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: The Lucky Ones features heartfelt performances, but is undone by the plot's overwrought parade of coincidence and contrivance.
Synopsis: Neil Burger's follow-up to his accomplished period piece, THE ILLUSIONIST, is an affecting naturalistic modern drama. THE LUCKY ONES concerns three Iraq War soldiers who have just returned to the... [More]
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan
Director: Neil Burger
The Lucky Ones takes a decent premise -- three soldiers returning from Iraq facing domestic challenges upon their arrival home -- and crams so much forced drama into it that the movie devolves into a hack buddy picture.
... reductive and unfunny ... think Coming Home crossed with Vegas Vacation minus Cousin Eddie ...
[A] far-fetched take on Iraq War homecomings.
Top CriticThe story (by director Burger and Dirk Wittenborn) contains too many coincidences and convergences to wholly ring true.
Like its lead characters, Lucky is wounded, lost, and impractical, but it has a messy, winning humanity and an agreeably leisurely pace that almost redeems it.
What gives these episodes cumulative impact is the group portrait that emerges of a well-meaning country in a state of drift.
The drama's one glaring weakness is that its contrivances are far too obvious...Despite that, the unexpectedly light, sometimes humorous story is still enormously affecting.
Lucky might have its heart in the right place trying to soften the image of the average Iraq War soldier, but this is a clumsy, insufferable feature film of excessive formula and embarrassing dramatic development.
Rachel McAdams keeps reminding me how good she is in every role she takes. In this movie, she just glows energy. Acting is one thing. How do you project energy? Through joy, anger and curiosity, she projects this vibe and she is the backbone of the film.
While their circumstances may be forced, the three characters feel like real, complex, likable people. That's a real rarity in a film about veterans, no matter what the ideology is.
By structuring this as a comic road movie, writer-director Neil Burger manages to examine the emotional isolation of returning vets without sinking into a bog of despair.
This formula is fraught with pitfalls, but the characters and the actors redeem it with a surprising emotional impact.
Top CriticThe Iraq war has thus far produced no truly memorable dramatic movies, as opposed to documentaries, and the losing streak continues with The Lucky Ones.
After running through some pretty contrived paces for much of its running time, The Lucky Ones has some surprises in the last act that ultimately make it more satisfying than it might have been.
A road movie with no purpose, and a war drama with no bite.
Soldiers deserve a better tribute than this trite, phony dreck.
Of its genre, it's uncommonly good, and it's also the cheeriest movie about Iraq war vets I've yet seen.
A refreshing departure from the normal 'soldier's story' movies we've seen in recent years.
The direction is functional, workmanlike; Burger never steals the spotlight from his characters.
War/road trip dramedy is cliched but affecting.
August 24, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
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