RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Lucky Ones
The Lucky Ones

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Lucky Ones (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
35 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 30, 1999 Wide

Box Office: $183,088

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... 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 States: Fred Cheever (Tim Robbins) is out for good, and can't wait to reunite with his wife and son in St. Louis; T.K. Poole (Michael Pena) has suffered an embarrassing injury and is on his way to reconnecting with his fiancée before heading back overseas; and the also-injured Colee Dunn (Rachel McAdams) is on a mission to deliver a precious guitar to her deceased boyfriend's parents in Las Vegas. These strangers are brought together when JFK Airport is shut down indefinitely. Deciding that renting a car is a better option than twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the planes to fly, they hit the road on an eventful journey that will bring them closer together than they ever would have expected. THE LUCKY ONES is both an entertaining road movie and a poignant work of social commentary. Like real life, it's both comic and dramatic. Burger and co-screenwriter Dirk Wittenborn aren't out to make any brash statements for or against the war. They simply want to make viewers think about what it must feel like to return home after having fought overseas. Robbins, Pena, and McAdams are as good as they've ever been. It is their committed performances that gives dimension to these characters and makes THE LUCKY ONES resonate so deeply. [More]

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan, Mark L. Young, Howard Platt, Arden Myrin, Coburn Goss

Director: Neil Burger

Director: Neil Burger
Screenwriter: Neil Burger, Dirk Wittenborn
Producer: Neil Burger, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Schwartz
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Pray For Us
    >
1 - 2 of 2

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 27, 2009

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Lucky Ones

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
61 - 68 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Even when it feels contrived, The Lucky Ones is enhanced by Mr. Peña, Ms. McAdams and especially the terrific, always surprising Mr. Robbins, in performances so likable and well timed they carry you aloft, like a flag.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
09/24/08
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A refreshing departure from the normal 'soldier's story' movies we've seen in recent years.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
09/24/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

Though Iraq War is in the background, Lucky Ones is yet another disappointing 9/11 film; it's a known fact that for a road picture to work, you need interesting encounters, revelations, self-discoveries, humor and color, all of which are in short supply

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/23/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

It isn't unpleasant to spend two hours with these three soldiers, although it might have been more enjoyable to spend the time getting to know them rather than force-feeding them artificial road bumps.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
09/22/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sometimes, however, empty, contrived fantasies are just empty, contrived fantasies, as is certainly the case with this embarrassingly phony cross between Grace Is Gone, Home of the Brave and, believe it or not, Twister.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment 1 Comment
09/21/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/17/08
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Boxoffice Magazine

It's hard to find the genuine heartfelt moments in The Lucky Ones, a story about three Iraq War soldiers on a brief road trip back in the U.S., under the clutter of narrative contrivances and coincidences.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
09/16/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Soldiers deserve a better tribute than this trite, phony dreck.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment 1 Comment
09/11/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
Cinematical
 
 
61 - 68 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4
all

Latest News for The Lucky Ones

August 24, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
36% 36% Angels & Demons
95% 95% Star Trek
25% 25% Four Christmases

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
78% 78% The Hangover
49% 49% Taking Woodstock
26% 26% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
47% 47% The Girl From Monaco

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington

A video interview with the Avatar star!

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Check out the brand new trailer now!

Golden Globes

Golden Globes

Up in the Air leads with 6 noms!

Nominee Gallery

Nominee Gallery

See who got nominated for Golden Globes!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
6
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
4
  • Prince of Persia Featurette Posted Source: Yahoo! Movies
2
  • Trailer Bulletin: Robin Hood Source: ComingSoon.net
51
  • Mel Gibson Plans a Mexican Vacation Source: Variety
8
  • New Iron Man 2 Clue Posted Source: Screen Rant
24
  • Gibson and DiCaprio are Going Norse Source: HitFix
66
  • Lord of the Rings Coming to Blu-ray April 6 Source: Hollywood Reporter
8
  • Tobey Maguire Rumored for The Hobbit Source: Latino Review
42
  • Mila Kunis Talks Aronofsky's Black Swan Source: Collider.com
13
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Avatar Live Up To The Hype?
236
  • Awards Tour 2009: Golden Globe Noms Here!
111
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
70
  • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
42
  • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
38
  • The Gimmicks That Changed Cinema: Part 1
37
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
33
  • The Effects of Where the Wild Things Are
30
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Critics Consensus: Princess, Invictus Are Certified Fresh
21
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
23
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Lucky Ones at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Lucky Ones at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Sci-Fi This Decade
Best Sci-Fi This Decade External Link

Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.

40 Worst Films of the 2000s
40 Worst Films of the 2000s External Link

Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.

10 Questions For Zac Efron
10 Questions For Zac Efron External Link

The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.

Best Decade Ever!
Best Decade Ever! External Link

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure External Link

In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.