Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 86
Fresh: 54 | Rotten: 32
Strong lead performances and catchy musical interludes rescue this coming-of-age story from its formulaic script and uneven direction.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 12
Strong lead performances and catchy musical interludes rescue this coming-of-age story from its formulaic script and uneven direction.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 113,801
A tightly knit group of working-class Atlanta teens spend their time bonding over hip-hop and roller skating while pondering life after high school in director Chris Robinson's coming-of-age comedy drama that draws inspirations from the real-life childhoods of Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins. For a kid growing up on the south side of Atlanta, the Cascade roller-skating rink is the place to be seen, and it's the place where the orphaned high school senior Rashad (Tip Harris) and his little
Mar 31, 2006 Wide
Jul 18, 2006
$21.2M
Warner Bros.
All Critics (90) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (33) | DVD (12)
Too predictable.
It's something akin to the earlier films of Spike Lee -- She's Gotta Have It and Crooklyn come to mind -- in that the characters are cherished for their human qualities, not for how well they swagger onto the screen.
Warner Bros.' low-budget stab at capturing an urban niche audience is higher on stylistic dazzle than originality or coherence, making it an unlikely candidate to bust out of the box office ghetto.
The film's special appeal is that while the boys are poor and black, their stories transcend race and socio-economic matters.
Making his feature-film debut, music-video director Chris Robinson expertly choreographs the skating sequences, which are exhilarating fun.
Really, ATL -- like last year's Roll Bounce -- is about roller skating.
Amateur camera work and conspicuous plotting reduce the film's regional sensibilities to sleep-inducing pap.
Morally grounded kids in the hood come of age.
A tip of the cap to Tip Harris and Lauren London for it is their chemistry and charm which allows one to believe in their tenderhearted romance in an atmosphere where women are regarded as objects and affectionately called 'bitches' and 'hos.'
Be forewarned that despite this critic's stamp of approval, this flick does trade in misogyny, profanity, the N-word, violence and drug use. Notexactly appropriate for impressionable young minds, despite the kid-friendly PG-13 rating.
Put ATL in our collection ASAP and PDQ.
Not exactly something that can boiled down to an easy sell, but then that's also part of its appeal and charm.
A well-meaning and good-hearted urban melodrama -- that doesn't really seem to have anything new to say.
I really can't say there is all that much to the banal plot or stereotyped characters that we haven't seen before and better. (HD-DVD and DVD Combo Format)
I liked ATL for its music and for its all-around good intentions and general amiability. But....
A contradictory approach ultimately muddles the film despite some heartfelt and evocative moments about youngsters growing up on the streets of Atlanta.
The film that proves that all life's problems can be solved with a montage.
... a surprisingly strong coming-of-age movie with a great young cast. It pops with color and humor and pays attention to the details that situate it in a real location ...
Director Chris Robinson maintains a light touch, giving the colorful, energetic skating scenes the benefit of his music-video roots, but he doesn't neglect character, drawing sincere performances from his young cast.
A light urban coming-of-age dramedy where the veneer may be darkly intriguing, but the finish is pure homily, of the sort where lessons are learned and dreams do come true.
having solidly entertained for most of its running time, goes out in a blaze of cliche
As clich?mount, realism and make-believe jostle against one another more discordantly.
ATL is a likable film with an affirmative and hopeful message about the fate of its main players.
One cannot ignore or discount that Robinson is not only trying to tell a conventional tale unconventionally, but he is also attempting to put Atlanta on the map of cinematic city characters.
Robinson's film is a cut above the rest, seeming simultaneously wise beyond its years and electrically, youthfully playful.
A New American Story The movie was good and it had it's good moments. The story is not that great but decent enough. The acting was so-so from everyone, still entertaining and it pass really quickly. The attitudes, style and environment puts you right on the streets down south and that's why it was good.A tightly knit
November 15, 2009
Super Reviewer
The movie is okay, as it tells the story of life through the eyes of some ATL hood residents. It's entertaining to see the differences between neighborhoods, and follow the life of the people in the movie - but the movie seemed to forget a moral? You can make up your own, but there really was just no major point in
April 29, 2008Super Reviewer
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