Badland: Critic Reviews

The mawkish yet weirdly mesmerizing film Badland is independent in scale but aggressively Hollywood in storytelling.

Badland practically begs 'For Your Consideration' without the substance to justify its awards-season epic length.

Possibly the worst idea for a movie this century.

The raw material would seem to be in place for a strong, moving contemporary tragedy, but scene after endless scene fails to come to life.

The year's dullest movie has arrived: the deeply silly Badland, which is as dead as winter and twice as long.

When the picture gets around to its calculated socko ending, the viewer has long been pummeled into a state of numbness.

Expertly constructed and beautifully photographed, Badland easily sustains its 160-minute running time, and the portrayals of Draven, a British actor, and 9-year-old Fulton can stand alongside the year's best.

An unrelentingly bleak and depressing drama about an Iraqi war veteran who is unable to deal with his rage.

Exploiting what it is supposed to renounce, Badland combines a dreadfully long and dull screenplay and extremely plain surroundings to make a well-meaning anti-war film you'll want to miss.

Some good performances. But, the overall disturbing atmosphere of the film is more than I prefer. That said, I appreciate the effort to raise awareness of PTSD.

Badland takes a step in the right direction by attempting to understand the aftermath of war.

Until the mess in the Middle East has found its way to a resolution, we can continue to expect films like Badland as part of the collateral damage in the War on Terror.

Clocking in at just under three hours, writer-director Francesco Lucente's earnest attempt at making an Iraq War-era Coming Home says many things at once without much perspective or clarity.

Offensive to all and on every level, Badland tops the landfill of this year's worst.

At least half the celluloid should have hit the editing room floor, since this one-trick road flick revolves around Jerry's constantly contemplating suicide and belatedly bonding with his daughter while eluding the authorities.