The Lucky Ones
Lionsgate | Release Date: September 26, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This formula is fraught with pitfalls, but the characters and the actors redeem it with a surprising emotional impact. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
This is more than the story of soldiers grappling with stress and doubt as they reenter the "normal" flow of domestic life. It's about strangers bonding, about friendship and discovery, about the comedy and tragedy of the human experience. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This movie has its own emotional sorcery. In a raw, humorous way, it grasps how hope and desperation spur magical thinking and, sometimes, real magic. Read full review
70
The New York TimesLaura Kern
Because the lead actors work so well together, adding depth and levels of vulnerability to fairly underwritten roles, the emotional consequences of the sense of displacement these "lucky" characters -- lucky to be alive, lucky to have met one another -- must deal with always ring true. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
I'd hate to guess whether most Americans know, any more than these fictional partygoers, what soldiers go through in Iraq. But if the market for movies about the war is any indication, they don't want to. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The Lucky Ones isn't dull, and the actors do quite nicely, especially McAdams, who's feisty, gorgeous, and as mercurial as a mood ring. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
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. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The weakest aspect of The Lucky Ones is by far the conclusion, which is flat and contrived. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Though the lead performances are uniformly good, the film seems hazy in its focus from the start. Many of the scenes seem to simply meander. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
An entertaining road movie with a topical point: The three passengers on this cross-country trip are U.S. soldiers who've just returned from Iraq. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
As close as a movie about three Iraq war soldiers should come to mediocre TV comedy. Read full review
63
PremiereStuart Levine
While the journey is somewhat bumpy and awfully contrived at times, the characters making the trek are ones we don't mind being cooped with for long stretches of highway. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
It's not a political film, but it's also not a bland recitation of homilies about the honor of serving one's country. It's a jokey road movie, in which three soldiers heading home from Iraq are forced into a cross-country van ride together. Read full review
55
NPRBob Mondello
There's something centrally pat and predictable about the coincidence-laden story, and by the time they get to Vegas, The Lucky Ones has been all but done in by a surfeit of serendipity. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSura Wood
This moderately engaging, offbeat film requires a patience that audiences haven't demonstrated recently for stories concerning the fate of soldiers at home or abroad. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
More than a story about Iraq war veterans, The Lucky Ones is a movie about carefully considering one's options. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The film itself, which has everything from erection jokes to a computer-generated tornado, comes down to a battle between the interpreters and a screenplay riddled with convenience, cliche and well-meaning contrivance. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Burger is so respectful of the trio that he never gets under their skin. Apart from the generosity of strangers who pay tribute to the soldiers with little acts of kindness, you get the same generic observations of any road movie. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
If this is meant to look fresh while still being sensitive, it doesn't and it isn't. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
As the film meanders, the powerful moments barely outnumber the ridiculous. And another excellent performance from McAdams isn't quite good enough to mask the distractions. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
About the only thing I like about this movie is its shaggy, relatively apolitical stance. Instead of setting itself up as a brief for or against the Iraq war, it just moseys along without much on its mind except how to connect the dots in the plot. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
It's hard to find the genuine heartfelt moments in The Lucky Ones. Read full review
40
Village VoiceVadim Rizov
Its hopelessly schematic road-trip arc (bond-fight-reconcile-repeat) grows increasingly tedious. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Could be filed under "wacky misfire." Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Cheap, ignorant, tone-deaf and condescending, but what's strangest about it is that it actually thinks it's pro-soldier even as it portrays vets home on leave as foolish (Rachel McAdams), desperate (Tim Robbins) and dishonorable (Michael Pena) while playing all three situations for laughs. Read full review
More From This Movie

53 Critic Reviews

7.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL