The Lucky Ones (2008) Critic Reviews

This formula is fraught with pitfalls, but the characters and the actors redeem it with a surprising emotional impact.Read the full review

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 the full review

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 the full review

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 the full review

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 the full review

As close as a movie about three Iraq war soldiers should come to mediocre TV comedy.Read the full review

The weakest aspect of The Lucky Ones is by far the conclusion, which is flat and contrived.Read the full review

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 the full review

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 the full review