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Powerful

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

hyped garbage

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

While there have been many movies about 'soldiers picking up the pieces after returning home from war', Neil Burger's story takes a refreshing look with a touch of humour, sarcasm and compassion. Three soldiers, Fred (Tim Robbins), Colee (Rachel McAdams) and T.K (Michael Peña) cross paths as they are on their way back from a German hospital to the states. Fred looks forward to reuniting with his wife and son, Colee plans to return her dead boyfriend's guitar to his parents and T.K. claims to have a fiancée waiting. As they reach the states, their connecting flights get cancelled and together, the three embark on a roadtrip that will change their lives.Most successful road movies require characters that are interesting and the road-trip in the film is usually a metaphor for the characters' journey from one situation to another, a growth of sorts. Otherwise it's pretty much like watching a travel documentary. While Burger beautifully captures the American landscape, it is his three principle characters who keep the viewer involved with their wit, charm, compassion, and even recklessness. As they move ahead on their trip, each heading towards a different destination, a wonderful friendship develops and here the trip is a metaphor of the characters reaching a place of self awareness. Saying more would be giving away the story.With fine cinematography, good scoring and editing and decent special effects, 'The Lucky Ones' is well executed. The odd, but very likable casting of Tim Robbins, Michael Peña and Rachel McAdams is terrific. The three are very convincing on screen as three unlikely people who become friends. Peña displays a subtle intensity that is well complemented by McAdams's subtle humour. Despite all the hardship, Colee remains optimistic but tough. Robbins does an excellent job as Fred who comes home only to find that his expectations have been shattered and while he is desperate to raise money for his son, he is breaking on the inside but his new friends provide just the kind of comfort and confidence he needs.There are a few minor quibbles. I found the tornado sequence to be forced and it just suddenly appears out of nowhere to solve one of the character's problems. While the ending was predictable, it wasn't a bad ending but I would have preferred an alternative conclusion.Overall, 'The Lucky Ones' is a splendid film that is a good balance of intensity and humour. These three characters involve us through their adventurous journey that is an enjoyable ride all the way.

The Lucky Ones was a great idea for a film. A road movie about three soldiers on leave, played my Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Pena. When these three soldiers - who are initially strangers - end up on a plane together (and eventually a rental car due to the grounding of planes) they're forced to spend time together, limping and driving across the country, battle scars everywhere.Directed by Neil Burger, known mostly for 2006's decent enough The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones feels like the work of a filmmaker who has ended up far out of his league. He seems to make some good decisions here and there (the film is well cast and the concept is strong), but, for a $14 million dollar film with three great leads, The Lucky Ones is a major disappointment. For starters, cinematographer Declan Quinn (In America, Rachel Getting Married, Leaving Las Vegas, Monsoon Wedding, etc.) doesn't give this film a $14 million dollar look. In fact, after a few scenes I got excited, thinking that this might be a true indie film with a tiny budget. It's not. And, unless Burger paid his stars big bucks, I can't figure out where the $14 million went - there's nothing in this film that should've cost much more than a Joe Swanberg or Andrew Bujalski film.And while that might seem like a petty complaint (seeing as how most movie watchers don't analyze such things), let me also take this opportunity to point out how sad it is to see Burger, who also wrote the film, waste away a great story idea. Three unconnected modern day soldiers end up stuck in a car together, crossing the country? How can you mess that up?! Especially when you have McAdams, Robbins, Pena and Quinn on your team? Burger finds a way.All that said, there are some enjoyable moments in this pedestrian piece of film art. Whenever the trio pass any sort of landmark or tourist trap, McAdams' character begs to stop, the other two denying her. They three all wake up at night with night terrors. We even get to see the endlessly soft-and-sweet McAdams start a fight at a college bar in southern Indiana where she's eventually backed up by her new solider pals. It could've been a classic moment. Unfortunately, it's not memorable and hardly believable, no matter how convincingly muscular McAdams' jaw and shoulders are. Robbins' and Pena's performances are strong throughout and McAdams' face continues to be the best screen face of her time. But, aside from these minor points, The Lucky Ones is a disappointment. Soldiers are, by average, living the most storyteller-worthy lives of any Americans right now, and this is all Berger can come up with? A bar fight and night terrors? Needless to say, this isn't a very deep or thoughtful film. The end - which I'm sure Burger thinks is incredibly thoughtful and unexpected - wraps things up nicely, of course. Don't things always wrap up nicely for soldiers?And the use of music? Ugh. Berger offers a selection of super obvious hipster picks mixed in with a score so cheesy that you have to doubt the vision of the director. F'real; it's that bad. Does the guy who likes this awful score really like all of this great indie music, or is he just trying to be hip? That's the question.I could go on, but why bother. Burger, who with The Illusionist became a director to watch, has become, with The Lucky Ones, a director who is going to have to fight for jobs, stars and production budgets. The classic case of an over-hyped auteur blowing their big break.

I sat down to this film not knowing anything beyond what the trailer depicted...and I had only a vague memory of that. Is it a drama, a comedy, a what...? I can honestly say that I think the answer is yes. To all. It's the most honest, solid, watchable film I've seen in a long time. Nothing seemed forced, gratuitous, or pandering... it's just a well told, and acted, human story. Neither a magical, nor let-down ending...unless one would count "I wish more films could be made this well" as a let down.So, that's my opinion, which doesn't mean much...unless you are like me, and enjoy the quality of a film more than the franchise future possibilities of one.

I had tickets for this at the Toronto International Film Festival last summer but was side-tracked by an obscure little film called Slumdog Millionaire instead, so only got around to watching it last night on pay-per-view. In a strange way, the two films have a good deal in common. In an era in which everyone seems to want either tense thrillers, puerile comedies or awesome special effects (the only one here, as has been pointed out, is a cheaply put together tornado), both movies offer little more than a thoroughly improbable plot and a focus on character development. But both work remarkably well. I am puzzled by those who found that the movie dragged. While most of the plot development was telegraphed not once but several times, the acting from all three leads was both believable and very deft. At first I thought that Rachel McAdams' character was simply too naive to be true but it soon became apparent that she was much wiser than we (or even she) knew. She plays it beautifully. Tim Robbins is wonderful too, and rather pathetic, in a down-to-earth role as an aging war veteran, happy to have survived and soon to be confronted with some harsh realities. But Michael Pena was the real surprise. He is completely captivating in his portrayal of a proud young vet from a military family on his way to meet his girlfriend, with his masculinity compromised by a war injury. His character is the most subtly poignant as he confronts his own fears about his manhood, on several levels.Like all movies based on the Iraqi war, this seems to suffer from America's desire to ignore the war altogether, just as they ignored the Vietnam veterans a generation ago (Coming Home, The Deer Hunter). America seems to be much less willing to address its failures now than it was then, or even the lesser failures in the wake of World War II.