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The Road (movie)

A 2009 film film based on the book of the same name.

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Makes You Think

Oct 30, 2010

by macariojames
posted in Movie Hype

Exclusive to the Lunch Network

Rating:

A post-apocalyptic suspense film that loses its steam a third of the way through. From the outset, it will have you on your seat, heart-thumping, anxious to know what danger lies around the next bend for our all-too-human father and son duo.

The gritty style and viewing angles, accompanied with the impeccably apt score immerses the viewer into this desolate world, rife with murderers and cannibals, as well as the atypical enemy: falling dead trees. A Book of Eli similarity come to mind from the story arc and film style. Not necessarily a negative, but it makes the movie feel too familiar.

Questions of vitality, longevity and what does life actually mean (is death a better option?) are begged throughout this movie. Do trophies of occupational progression, degrees, fancy cars or watches, in-ground swimming pools, or even refrigerators even mean anything when the world is dying? What is the importance of material litany and intellectual pursuit if society has crumbled, anarchistic humanity now in its stead?

Film's explicit impact begins to taper off towards the end, resulting in an underwhelming conclusion, yet leaving us with questions more than answers. Possibly setting up for a sequel? Who knows.

With that said, its resonance lives on with questions of philosophy rather than of narrative; a fitting reward for those who like self-reflection and introspection.

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woopak_the_thrill October 30, 2010

Welcome to our community and thanks for the review! I liked this film quite a bit and I agree with your points, it did seem to divert a bit from its premise towards the climax. Nice work!

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More The Road (movie) reviews

review by ryguy4738. June 23, 2011

posted in Movie Hype

And the road leads to nowhere.

*** out of **** "The Road" begins a bleak and depressing vision, and stays that way up until the end. That is how Cormac McCarthy's novel was written; that is how the film adaptation is made. There was no other way to make the film. If it could not be both visually and emotionally bleak, then it just wouldn't have been "The Road". In my heart, I know that this is the best they could do when it comes to an adaptation of McCarthy's story, which I treasure oh-so-much. "The Road" … more

Comment Compliments (12)

review by dcgrrl. December 28, 2009

posted in Movie Hype

Search for humanity

This is not an easy or fun film to watch, but it is worth a viewing, and a great film for those of us that like a film class sort of movie, worthy of discussion. I am a big fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, from Escape from New York to 28 Days Later, and The Road is neither of those. There are no zombies or goons in punk rock leather. This is scary because of how real it feels. (I would have been very relieved to see a zombie at some points in this movie, just to break … more

Comments (7) Compliments (97)

review by woopak_the_thrill. May 27, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

Parental Panic and Fear in This Barren, Dead Wasteland...

“THE ROAD” is a film about a post-apocalyptic world that is based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. Directed by John Hillcoat with a screenplay written by John Penhall portrays the journey of a father and a son as they trudge this barren wasteland, looking for a destination and keeping a flicker of hope. Now I haven’t read the book so I cannot judge this film as to well it compares to its source material, but as always, I can judge a film as to well … more

Comments (11) Compliments (60)

Quick Tip by Count_Orlok_22. December 17, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

A Quick Tip by Count_Orlok_22

As far as post-apocalyptic stories go, it's hard to introduce anything new or compelling at this point, since almost everything's been done before. However, this film manages to be very compelling and memorable. The film doesn't function as a science fiction film, but rather as an emotionally complex father and son survival story. The Road takes place in a future where reality almost seems to be unraveling. Trees are falling, animals are dying out, cities are … more

Comments (35) Compliments (9)

review by cyclone_march. October 13, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

The Road -- Disappointing, poorly conceived, inconsistent

I do not have a problem separating a movie derived from another source—typically a book. I’ve been a book collector and heavy reader all my life; similarly, I am a heavy user of movies. So, fully understanding they are different media I can usually value each outside of the other. Of course I make comparisons—it’s impossible not to do so. I loved the book and film Fight Club but the movie was significantly more powerful and a bit funnier. John Huston’s The Dead mimicked … more

Comments (1) Compliments (12)

review by sniffcode. December 14, 2009

The Fire Inside Still Burns

From what I've seen so far, The Road, has had a limited release in the United States. Apparently, only the bigger cities are fortunate enough to have this one make the big screens. Consequently, the last time I checked, the movie was at a mere $1.5 million in box office sales. Too bad. It's an excellent movie. And as far as the post-apocalyptic genre goes, it puts most of its predecessors to shame. John Hillcoat, the director, proves that minimal is the way to go. The … more

Comments (2) Compliments (35)

review by MichaelN. July 04, 2010

The Movie Is More Boring than the Book Was!

With Vigo Mortensen, I thought the movie adaptation of the book would be better. After all here is the action star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was wrong. As boring as the book was, the movie is a lot more boring. After some sort of world holocaust a father and his son wander around whatever is left just trying to survive while trying to avoid cannibalistic "bad people." Occasionally the father remembers his dead wife (she … more

Comment Compliments (9)

Quick Tip by lyssachttr. August 02, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

A Quick Tip by lyssachttr

I'm no expert on post-apocalyptic movies, but this suffered the same fate as Book of Eli for me... strong start and then downhill halfway through. By definition, where can a movie of this nature really go? The ending was flat out pathetic, and the boy got really annoying after a while. Strong performance by Viggo Mortensen though and it did manage some tense moments to hold my interest. Curious about the book though, since as a rule I find most books to be much stronger than their film adaptations. … more

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Quick Tip by forrest5. July 26, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

A Quick Tip by forrest5

It was too bad that the movie was not nearly as good as the book despite being as true to it as it was. The quality of the cgi may have had a lot to do with that, they were some what distracting.

Comment Compliments (3)

Quick Tip by IrishAdin. July 10, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

A Quick Tip by IrishAdin

One of the best book to movie adaptions I have seen. It seems depressing but is a tale of love between a father and son, a never ending unbreakable love. Very uplifting if you look at how there is still love when all else fails.

Comment Compliments (3)

see all The Road (movie) reviews (14)

About the reviewer

macario.james (macariojames)
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Life-long knowledge-seeker; writer; blogger; auto-didactism advocate; web+graphic designer; WordPress manipulator; g33k; computer+printer technician: human. i believe the only … more

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About this movie

Wiki

The Road is a 2009 film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall. Based on the 2006 novel of the same name by American author Cormac McCarthy, the film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Filming took place in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Oregon. The film received a limited release in North American cinemas from November 25, 2009 and is scheduled to be released in UK cinemas on January 4, 2010.

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