The Road Reviews and Ratings


  • davidep
    December 6, 2009
    davidep
    This film goes nowhere, just like the characters do.
  • kennybelievesinyou
    December 6, 2009
    kennybelievesinyou
    A father and son walk across a post apocalyptic wasteland in search for food shelter and hope. They only have each other, and must face the impending danger head on. Love is the strongest bond of all, it can sometimes be the only thing that will get you through.

    The Man: I to...( read more)ld the boy when you dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream about good things that you should start to worry.

    This was the one film in all of 2009 that I wanted to be good, and it was as perfect as I thought it would be. The film was exactly like the book with a few more wife flashbacks, but they made them work. They added more emotion to the story, and made you understand the pain of the man and his boy, they made you really feel like you could have been that man. The characters had no names, which to me is the beauty of what this film was, they didnt need names, it was the story, the emotions and how it could have been anyone that was enough to capture the audience.

    Mortensen was perfect, exactly the way I imagined the man caring for his boy, honest, sincere, the ultimate provider. I thought Viggo gave his best performance to date, and that is saying a lot considered the three brilliant performances he gave in each of the LOTR films. But this time around Viggo was emotionally attached to his peformance, he was working with another brilliant actor in Kodi Smit-McPhee (Who will get an oscar nom hopefully). Viggo became the man, it seemed like Kodi was his son, it didnt seem like a movie because you were taken away by both performances. You couldnt help but feel emotional during some of the scenes in the film. I would hope Viggo could get a nom as well, but I will settle for Kodi, I just thought the boy would be even harder to portray then the man. Kodi needed to be believable, he needed to have the right emotions and that is difficult for an actor at the age of 13, but he nailed it, he was acting right alongside Viggo, and they complemented each other perfectly.

    You see The Road may not be the action film of 2009 or as good as other films you may have seen, but really, if you want an emotional love story, between a father and his son this film is beautiful. The best film I have seen in a long time. Brilliance.
  • tsigur
    December 5, 2009
    tsigur
    First of all, The Road, in my opinion is one of the greatest books ever written, so I have to separate any film adaption from the book because if I went in with that kind of anticipation, I would be disappointed however it turned out. I have to say how throughly surprised I was t...( read more)o see how much I enjoyed John Hillcoat's vision for the film and commend him on a good adaptation.Viggo Mortenson is the perfect choice for the role of the father and Kodi-McPhee Smith is great as the son (it's also eerie how much he looks like his "mother" Charlize Theron). Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce (how underrated is this guy?) were also great. I was a fan of The Proposition, so I thought that the book was in good hands and Hillcoat didn't let me down. The only thing that really bothered me was some of the music in certain points (especially towards the end). Overall, one of the best things I have seen this year by far.
  • Dracula787
    December 5, 2009
    Dracula787
    In the waning years of this decade, 2005-2008, we began to see a number of powerful films from American directors (or at least directors working within the studio system) that seemed to be subconscious reactions to post-9/11 confusion, anxiety, and Bush era discontent. Among the...( read more) film?s I?d include in this bubble of creativity are Children of Men, Zodiac, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and to some extent The Dark Knight. Though part of me is afraid that I?m just lumping together a bunch of great movies that happened to be made around the same time period, I can?t help but make this link. All of these movies seemed to be made with a certain intensity, they were all movies about uncertainty, about people who had to reconsider their assumptions or about people who fail to rethink their assumptions and paid for it. I bring this little movement up because I think it?s over, most of the films made in the last two years have not really seemed a part of this, possibly because the election of Barrack Obama has changed the political landscape, cynicism is out and hope is in. The Road, a film which was going to come out in 2008 before it was delayed, might just be the final film we?ll be seeing from this brief but rewarding movement of Hollywood cinema.

    Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning Cormac McCarthy novel of the same title, The Road tells the story about a father and son trying to survive in a tough environment. In the vague future of this film, society has collapsed and the environment has become harsh. We are never told if this apocalypse is the result of environmental decay, nuclear warfare, or some sort of disease, but what?s important is that most of the people are gone, the cities are in ruins, and the sun is constantly being blocked by clouds. We see this world from the perspective of an unnamed man (Viggo Mortensen) and his unnamed son (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who must both try to walk south in order to escape the approaching winter cold. The son has never really known a better world than the one he lives in, we are told through flashbacks that he was born on the eve of the apocalypse and that his mother (Charlize Theron) has long since passed away.

    The film is all about survival, what survival is worth and what you?re willing to do in order to survive. The Mortensen character is someone who values surviving above all else, he?s not someone who is going to let the dimness of the world force him to give up on living as many other people in the situation are reported to have done. He tells his son that the two of them need to ?carry the flame,? to remain human in the face of the horrible things around them, he wants his son to think that the two of them are the ?good guys.? For the most part the two live up to this aspiration, at least when compared to the ?bad guys? that we encounter, particularly armed gangs of cannibals that roam the desolate countryside. At the same time, being a ?good guy? isn?t always easy and Mortensen?s character must make tough decisions about how to treat the people they encounter like a hungry old man (Robert Duvall) and a hungry thief (Michael K. Williams). One also gets the sense that Mortensen?s character has become understandably paranoid, that occasionally he displays caution that hurts him rather than saving him. These occasional moments when reality challenge the ?carry the flame? philosophy that he?s trying to hand down to his son, and in some ways his attempts to be a good man and a survivor become mixed messages for the boy.

    Viggo Mortenson is an actor who?s been working since the mid eighties, but he was completely off the radar until he came out of nowhere and appeared in the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a starring role in which, against all expectations, he thrived. He continued to deny expectations when he continued to do amazing work in his post-Aragorn work, partly because he seems to have refused to do roles in frivolous between his serious roles. Working with David Cronenberg he did great work in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, both films where he must be a very tough character but one with a complexities and vulnerabilities beneath the surface. That?s probably what makes Mortensen so special, he?s like a modern Clint Eastwood, a strong silent type but one who?s more than a stupid action hero. This quality is what makes him perfect for his role here, he needs to be a strong person who?s been molded by a tough environment, but he?s also a caring father who needs to have the tough of a parent throughout.

    The rest of the cast has also been very well constructed. Any movie that has a large role for a ten year old kid has a pretty big hurtle to jump because nothing can kill a movie quite like an annoying kid. Fortunately the kid they found, Kodi Smit-McPhee, has pulled off his role admirably. It helps that the character he?s playing has had to mature to some extent beyond his years because of the tough situation he?s in. That tends to erode a lot of the lame kid stuff that can so frequently lead to groan inducing line readings. Aside from the two central roles, every person that these two encounter seems to be perfectly cast. Charlize Theron manages to deliver an understated performance for a character that might have easily been overplayed and there?s also a neat small role for Guy Pearce that I won?t give away.

    Of course this is a film that?s defined by its post-apocalyptic setting, and John Hillcoat has made this setting into a character. Hillcoat had done a similar thing with the Australian Outback in his previous film, The Proposition, which was reportedly inspired significantly by Cormac McCarthy?s earlier work. This is a director that knows how to film desolation and he does it exceptionally well here. In fact, visually, this is the best post-apocalypse on film since George Miller?s The Road Warrior, and it might even surpass that car warfare classic in its vision. Most of the film depicts bleak and worn out forests, filled with trees who seem to have shed their leaves. It?s always cold, that?s the threat they?re running from, and snow occasionally enters the frame which is an interesting departure from the desert locales that usually characterize the genre. The sky is always overcast and the world seems to have the color sucked out of it. The remnants of society that are left over, like a scavenged coca-cola can, add more to the feeling of loss than the destroyed landmarks that are usually found in this kind of movie.

    This is also a movie that is capable of operating like a thriller when it needs to. The movie opens with a tense standoff between a threatening raider and a frightened Viggo Mortensen. The tension here is excellent and the abrupt way it ends is the perfect capper. An even better scene occurs later on when they sneak into a seemingly abandoned house only to find some profoundly disturbing things are happening there. This scene is as frightening as anything seen in a horror movie this year, and the fact that it furthers most of the film?s themes while also providing visceral chills to the audience is a testament to Hillcoat?s abilities as a director. That said, this isn?t really a thriller even if individual scenes are very tense.

    I won?t lie, this movie isn?t exactly a laugh riot. This is a movie that can be a bit tough to watch, it?s a downer and it isn?t exactly ?fun.? Great films are usually challenging and they?re not always going to be a light-hearted evening out, but this is a movie about the end of the world and it isn?t some kind of juvenile work that things the end of the world is going to be a blast. If ?fun? is all you want out of a movie, then you?ll probably be well served by 2012, it?s your loss. That?s going to be one hurdle for this film; another is going to be the inevitable comparisons made to 2007?s Oscar winning Cormac McCarthy adaptation No Country for Old Men. No, this film isn?t going to be as great as that Coen Brothers opus, then again very few movies are. This may not be an instant classic that everyone will agree on the way No Country for Old Men was, but it is far and away better than most anything you?re likely to see in theaters on any given week. This isn?t 2007 and I don?t think we?re going to get too many more films like this for a while. Appreciate this one while it lasts.
  • jfish4466
    December 5, 2009
    jfish4466
    This movie was very good, very well done. Viggo Mortensen gives an incredible performance in this film. This movie would not have been the same without Viggo in it. The storyline and the writing for this film was quite good. The cinematography was stark, graphic, and very realist...( read more)ic. They give you quite the bleak picture of the apocalypse. The actor who played Viggo's son in the film did a very good job. I liked this film a lot but this film is not up lifting. This film is very serious and tragic, and it is worth seeing.
  • jschartrand
    December 4, 2009
    jschartrand
    Fuck it. Fuck this movie actually. No such adaptation of the caliber of No country for old men. No such things as a nice apocalypse like Children of men, yes it,s still better than the horrible (in all senses) I am legend, and.. Okay. The cinematography is fine and sometimes beau...( read more)tiful, but goddamn. This movie sounds so ridiculous so meaningless and.. Christ. How can a kid be so ANNOYING?
  • hobster1
    December 4, 2009
    hobster1
    Bleak, depressing road movie based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy about survivors of the apocalypse . With only the slightest hair of a story, this film is a fascinating study of the strong bond between a father and son. Actors Viggo Mortensen and Kodi S...( read more)mit-McPhee who play the central pair, are compelling and elevate what could have just been just a variation of 28 Days Later. The pacing can be extremely lethargic at times, but for those who are willing to be drawn in by the hypnotic gloom of this post apocalyptic world, the rewards are substantial.
  • mattsigur1
    December 4, 2009
    mattsigur1
    Whew. What a film.
    I haven't seen much this year that tops this. This movie is just tremendously devastating with great turns like the book. It keeps you in that hopeful mode.
    Dads should take their sons to see this, that is, if they give two shits about their children. This is ...( read more)a startling look at faith and humanity that will probably go under the rug for another bs drama.
  • rosariopink
    December 3, 2009
    rosariopink
    si la quisiera ver!!!!
  • mpghoul1973
    December 3, 2009
    mpghoul1973
    This is a well made and well acted post apocalyptic film. The filmmakers capture the bleakness and physical deteriation of what it would be like better than almost any post Apoc film ive seen. The one film that manages it much more realisticlly is a BBC film called Threads, but t...( read more)his is right there with it.
    The Road has many tense scenes that at times get down right scary. Those that have turned towards cannibalism are the biggest and ever present threat in this film. Viggo Mortensen is a great actor and this is just one more terrific role in an already impressive resume. The humanity he brings to the role really grabs at you. His main goal is his sons survival. His son in the film holds his own for the most part having to basiclly carry this film with Mortensen. The relationship and bond between father and son is really were the heart of the film lies. There is no political messages made in the film. There is not gore for the sake of grossout. ts just a film about father and son fighting to survive and protect one another in a horrific situation. Highly recommended!!
  • keith222
    December 3, 2009
    keith222
    Great to see the book come to life and Viggo is a perfectly casted as the father, but I think as an adaptation it is just to hard I think to really bring to life McCarthy's world that he envisioned in the book. I would love to see what other people think that have not read the bo...( read more)ok. Overall though I stilled enjoyed it, just wanted a little more.
  • stopitgoaway
    December 2, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    Cormac McCarthy's grim fable of a post apocalyptic America gets the respectful Hollywood treatment, with stubblechops Viggo Mortensen on great form as a man protecting his young son from scavengers and cannibals. Keep an eye out for him on the podium come Oscar time.
  • scooterboyk
    December 2, 2009
    scooterboyk
    One of the best apocolyptic type films I have ever seen. It doesn't use big special effects with ridiculous budgets to get any point across. It uses a simple story of a man and a boys jounrey to find meaning in lifes that are without it. My question with these movies is "Why stay...( read more) alive? Is ot really worth it?" This film, instead of ignoring it or answering it, digs deep into this question. What is this journey and why must we take it? Very thought provoking and excellent acting. Very depressing and mentally exhausting.
  • gchuquichanca
    December 2, 2009
    gchuquichanca
    This movie looks sick! (in a good way)
  • thefredster
    December 1, 2009
    thefredster
    I want to give it 3.25 stars (65%) but I can't so I arbitrarily rounded it up! Ok, Viggo Mortensen's acting is pretty good. But the dialogues are kinda cheesy for the most part. And the plot doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. I mean the idea of a post apocalyptic wor...( read more)ld and everything... It's well done. But it's not novel. And I love post apocalyptic movies by the way. But I always want to see something new. I mean, again, it's pretty well-done. It conveys the fear and the frustration and all. Anyway, that's why all in all I can't give it an amazing review, but I still like it enough for three and a half stars.
  • evankirby
    December 1, 2009
    evankirby
    Terrific Adaptation Of The Book. Mortensen Was Great But Smit-McPhee Was Good In Some Spots But Other's He Faltered. Hillcoat Amazingly Captured The Bleakness That McCarthy Wrote In The Novel.
  • jacquelinemaldonado3
    November 30, 2009
    jacquelinemaldonado3
    I WANT TO SEE IT I LIKE IT
  • RCCLBC
    November 30, 2009
    RCCLBC
    The thinking man/woman's post-apocalyptic film.
    While the biological, geological and structural devestation is ever present and ominous, the film focuses mainly on the deeper horror of such an event; the social, psychological and physical deterioration of society,
    This film is ...( read more)Intense, bleak and at times horrific. But always deeply thought provoking and very complex to spite it's simplicity.
    WIth the exception of Mortensen and Smith-McPhee, screen time is minimal for the rest of the cast. But everyone does a really good job with the time that they have and over all the acting is pretty amazing.
    One of those films that you will think (and talk) about for awhile after seeing it.
  • juela92
    November 30, 2009
    juela92
    ..............................
  • abrahj
    November 29, 2009
    abrahj
    awesome , I must see it!
  • edupayot
    November 29, 2009
    edupayot
    i like to see this movie
  • francesdustine
    November 29, 2009
    francesdustine
    i've read the book,,i like to see it on screen
  • cda16
    November 29, 2009
    cda16
    Do you guys waste your time in watching that is not even that good or what?
  • janette2374
    November 29, 2009
    janette2374
    esta buena me gusta
  • yasso21
    November 29, 2009
    yasso21
    i beleive its worth seeing
  • ily25
    November 29, 2009
    ily25
    read the book and it was amazing...the movie is just he same
  • crazyrussthe3rd
    November 29, 2009
    crazyrussthe3rd
    My dad was walking along a beach in Oregon when he came a cross one of the sets for this movie.
    They had to stop filming, and then they told him what was going on.
  • hkpyiuodwk
    November 29, 2009
    hkpyiuodwk
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  • teshua2
    November 29, 2009
    teshua2
    anything Cormac McCarthy has got to be good. All star cast, incl. Robert Duvall who's usually never in a bad movie. I think I'll see it.
  • 3LB
    November 29, 2009
    3LB
    not bad. I like the film's look, but it really doesn't go anywhere.
  • Xexecva
    November 29, 2009
    Xexecva
    I'll watch anything Viggo is in. If you liked "Blindness" you're like this movie. Very intense bleak depiction of a possible future. Really a father and son story, it's probably better seen on a rainy day afternoon. Do something cheery afterward or you'll have nightmares..
  • amr1161
    November 29, 2009
    amr1161
    father and son story really touching
  • adrianaholynest
    November 29, 2009
    adrianaholynest
    woooow, esta pelada no se de donde se sacan pelis tan escalofrieantes pero se nota que es calidad desde q ves q tipos de actores, como robert Duval, Gay pierce q creo q es el niņo que sale en corazon de caballeron interpretando a willm tacher, Charlize theron una gran actris desd...( read more)e Seeth november y como olvidar a higgo mortensen que se hizo famos con el seņpr de los anillos.
  • stanleymead
    November 29, 2009
    stanleymead
    we have movie and we have movie but when it comes to real movie that will bomb you that you will watch it over and over again then go and get yourself a copy now...!!
  • rtrcoronel
    November 29, 2009
    rtrcoronel
    i wanna to see it, like 2012
  • baguskrisna89
    November 29, 2009
    baguskrisna89
    I really want to see..
  • marianbrist
    November 29, 2009
    marianbrist
    SUPER OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • lifaitejoseph
    November 28, 2009
    lifaitejoseph
    c est ma film prefere
  • becky571
    November 28, 2009
    becky571
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  • kubrickian
    November 28, 2009
    kubrickian
    To say this film is beautiful is difficult. Visually it is stunning, but its story is ugly. No doubt words like bleak and stark will be attached, and they are all true.

    I could have done without the Charlize Theron parts, but they really didn't bother me too much. The final 30 m...( read more)inutes are a little wearing, but all in all, the film is a good adaptation of the wonderful book.
  • sulkmell
    November 28, 2009
    sulkmell
    ****GREAT MOVIE.....
  • tina672
    November 28, 2009
    tina672
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  • db8coach
    November 28, 2009
    db8coach
    True to the book, true to the power of love.
  • rikyjohanes
    November 28, 2009
    rikyjohanes
    one of the finest movie of the year!! salute
  • ppr151foundation1
    November 28, 2009
    ppr151foundation1
    I want to see the Road, but I don't know how the load to my computer
  • mjredoquerio
    November 28, 2009
    mjredoquerio
    I want to watch this movie
  • sloweyez
    November 28, 2009
    sloweyez
    the movie is cool i like it
  • grace2all
    November 28, 2009
    grace2all
    i want to watch this movie
  • hindighazalie
    November 28, 2009
    hindighazalie
    i dont no abodut this movie, but i realy want to see
  • DrZeek
    November 28, 2009
    DrZeek
    The Boy: How many people do you think are still alive?
    The Man: In the world? Not very many.

    Based on a great novel from author Cormac McCarthy, this is a bleak tale about a father and son making there way through an abandoned world. Director John Hilcoat and screenwriter Jo...( read more)e Penhall do great justice to the novel, bringing this dark tale to life, which is certainly benefited by the strong performances, headlined by Viggo Mortensen.

    The Boy: Are we gonna die?
    The Man: We are not gonna quit. We are gonna survive this.

    An unnamed father, played by Viggo Mortensen and his young son, played by Smit-McPhee, struggle to survive after an unspecified apocalypse and make their way toward the coast for possible food, shelter, safety, or to potentially find other survivors of the cataclysmic events. Along the way, armed with a gun with only two bullets, they encounter grave struggles and hardships across the barren landscapes, with scarce shelter and resources available to them, and having to avoid bands of cannibals and other desperate gangs looking to pillage valuables and food. Various flashback sequences occur where the Man remembers events prior to the catastrophe involving his deceased wife, played by Charlize Theron.

    The Man: I told the boy when you dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream about good things that you should start to worry.

    Hilcoat's previous film was the great Australian western, "The Proposition," starring Guy Pearce. That film made great use of the barren outback to go along with another dark tale. His being attached to an adaptation of "The Road" got me immediately excited, and after seeing this film, he has delivered. As much as the story can be emotionally draining, I was not depressed watching this film. The balance between showing what humans are capable of and keeping a strong father-son bond at the center if the story is very effective here. Portraying a world gone to nothing, and not exploiting this aspect to achieve something greater beyond the two key characters is the element that certainly keeps this film in a grounded and tonally successful point of view.

    The Gang Member: That boy looks hungry. Why don't ya'll come on to the truck?
    The Man: You look at him again, I'll shoot you in the head.
    The Gang Member: I don't think you've killed a man in your life.

    The work by Mortensen and young Smit-McPhee is great. The two clearly worked hard to create the chemistry needed here, with Mortensen again throwing himself into another great performance. Small but effective work from Theron and Robert Duvall as well.

    The cinematography is quite effective here throughout. Working on a small budget, if one can get past the fact that gray is almost the only color you will see throughout this film, there is much to admire in the way the film has captured vast barren wastelands in both urban and forest settings. While not necessarily dwelling on how abandoned this world is, its certainly a great accomplishment in its portrayal of the world that was described in the book and in a way that captures why these characters act the way that they do.

    This certainly wont be a comfortable film for everyone to watch. Its very bleak and certainly not the exciting post-apocalyptic film that the ads want to sell this as (although there really isn't any other way to bring large audiences); however, its well made, with strong performances, and certainly does justice to the novel on which it is based.

    The Man: You have to keep carrying the fire.
    The Boy: What fire?
    The Man: The fire inside you.

Summary

The Road Summary