The Road

Name: The Road
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Released: November 25, 2009
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Viggo Mortensen

2009

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 352 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 352 Ratings

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The Road

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Movie Details & Credits

Dimension Films | Release Date: November 25, 2009 | R

Starring: Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Viggo Mortensen

Summary: Based on Cormac McCarthy's beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Academy Award nominee Viggo Mortensen leads an all-star cast in the big screen adaptation of The Road, the epic post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son across a barren landscape that was blasted by an unnamed cataclysm thatBased on Cormac McCarthy's beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Academy Award nominee Viggo Mortensen leads an all-star cast in the big screen adaptation of The Road, the epic post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son across a barren landscape that was blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed civilization and most life on earth. (The Weinstein Company) … Expand

Director: John Hillcoat

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

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Critic Reviews

Claudia Puig

While the film is not as resonant as the novel, it is an honorable adaptation, capturing the essence of the bond between father and son. Read full review

Empire Dan Jolin

One of the most chillingly effective visions of the world’s end ever put on screen -- and a heart-rending study of parenthood, to boot. Read full review

Elias Savada

It is compellingly enervating and a marvel in the filmmaking process. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Engrossing and at times impressive, a pretty good movie that is disappointing to the extent that it could have been great. Is this the way the world ends? With polite applause? Read full review

Scott Tobias

Aas grim as The Road gets, Hillcoat goes a little soft at the wrong time. Someone like Michael Haneke would have no trouble embracing this material’s uncompromising dreariness. Read full review

Ty Burr

Everything about the film is a welcome rebuke to the happy-face apocalypse of “2012,’’ a movie that turns mass extinction into the Greatest Show on Earth. In The Road, what has been lost is recognized as infinitely precious; what’s left is bitter and our due. Read full review

J. Hoberman

Pale by comparison to an action thriller like "Children of Men" or gross out eco-catastrophe like "Land of the Dead," squandering its ready-made zombie scenario. Read full review

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User Reviews

Happyislands

Jan 9, 2017

Emotionally devastating and utterly, crushingly, eye-wateringly bleak. Do not watch this on a Sunday night before going to work. I can't say I enjoyed The Road but I admired the craft of enormously.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Oli

Dec 14, 2009

A powerful adaptation of McCarthy's novel. I thought the acting was great all around, and the envisioning of the post-apocalyptic world was near perfect. I can understand how people would be turned off, but for me it worked.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

CHEESEDBEEF

Oct 8, 2014

Excellent movie with good pacing. Characters depict what it would really be like for a father & son struggling to survive the apocalypse. No mutants, cyborgs, or sci-fi creatures like in I am Legend, or the Fallout game series, this is pure survival. Acting is superb and will have youExcellent movie with good pacing. Characters depict what it would really be like for a father & son struggling to survive the apocalypse. No mutants, cyborgs, or sci-fi creatures like in I am Legend, or the Fallout game series, this is pure survival. Acting is superb and will have you feeling for the characters from beginning to end. A lot of suspense leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat. This movie will leave you wondering if the decisions the main character chooses are right or wrong, or if right or wrong has a place in the wasteland that unveils itself over the course of the movie.. overall this is the only movie I have seen that depicts how hard and realistic it would be to live through an apocalypse.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KelliZ

Dec 1, 2009

Very faithful adaptation of the book. I would have given it a 10, but it falls short of fully capturing the bond and love between the man and the boy. The writers and director did a fabulous job with the adaptation and given that the book is so minimalist, what they accomplished in this Very faithful adaptation of the book. I would have given it a 10, but it falls short of fully capturing the bond and love between the man and the boy. The writers and director did a fabulous job with the adaptation and given that the book is so minimalist, what they accomplished in this movie really is powerful. They should be very proud of what they did.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

averygoodcritic

Dec 6, 2013

As someone who has not read the novel, I was extremely impressed by John Hillcoat's work. It effectively portrays the unending love between father and son in a world where there is no room for emotion, and even provoked thoughts of my relationship with my own father. Visually and audibly theAs someone who has not read the novel, I was extremely impressed by John Hillcoat's work. It effectively portrays the unending love between father and son in a world where there is no room for emotion, and even provoked thoughts of my relationship with my own father. Visually and audibly the film thrives. Muted colours and the use of silence create a depressing atmosphere whilst retaining a tangible tension. Mortensen's portrayal as the paternal figure who refuses to give up really carries the piece! However, I found 'The Road' a touch too slow at times and a repetitive formula seemed to occur-stop, scavenge, sleep... If you are only looking for a graphic, action packed film where everyone is armed and no one thinks twice about killing, 'The Road' is not for you. If you are looking for something moving and more subtle, with greater underlying issues about mortality, give this film a go!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JimS

Nov 27, 2009

A dark and depressing drama that treads into the horror genre. Bleak doesn't begin to describe the lifeless landscape in which survivors scratch and claw the depths of their humanity. Absent any glimmer of hope -- even the ocean has turned gray -- life is reduced to a masochistic A dark and depressing drama that treads into the horror genre. Bleak doesn't begin to describe the lifeless landscape in which survivors scratch and claw the depths of their humanity. Absent any glimmer of hope -- even the ocean has turned gray -- life is reduced to a masochistic exercise. Too dark, even for this dark-movie lover.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

Avalord

Feb 11, 2019

Utterly depressive. I cannot understand all those positive reviews. If I had done simply nothing for the two hours. I would have least not feel that kind of exhausted!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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30	#30 Most Discussed Movie of 2009
32	#32 Most Shared Movie of 2009