53
Metascore
41 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangFormally, it is even more abstract than previous Malick efforts, with on-camera dialogue kept to the barest minimum and the cast instead contributing poetic, banal or philosophical voiceover to the soundtrack, lines which overlap, fade up and fade down into music and silence, contributing to the sense of the film as a philosophical fugue state.
- 75Slant MagazineCarson LundSlant MagazineCarson LundIt has the uncanny quality of an out-of-body experience, not a torn-from-the-heart confessional.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThose who have had their fill of the director’s impressionistic musings will find his seventh feature as empty as the lifestyle it puts on display; for the rest of us, there’s no denying this star-studded, never-a-dull-moment cinematic oddity represents another flawed but fascinating reframing of man’s place in the modern world.
- 67The Film StageGiovanni Marchini CamiaThe Film StageGiovanni Marchini CamiaThe lack of characterization is Cups‘ biggest flaw.... The constant Malick-ian voice-overs – fragmented, hushed, magniloquent – largely replacing dialogue don’t offer much by way of compensation.
- 60CineVuePatrick GambleCineVuePatrick GambleEach scene is presented like a taro card for the viewer to assign his or her own meaning. Occasionally this can lead to a profound and deeply personal connection to the film whilst at others it can feel like Malick is overreaching; with large swaths of the narrative washing over you like an agreeable summer's breeze.
- 60The TelegraphTim RobeyThe TelegraphTim RobeyWhatever Muse drives Malick, whose best work feels both found – in the sense of discovered in the shoot and edit – and profound, he could be accused of cheating on her in Knight of Cups, leapfrogging between unsatisfactory short-term conquests. His career is quite a journey, but this episode has an empty tank.
- 60Time Out LondonDave CalhounTime Out LondonDave CalhounLet’s not kid ourselves: cast-iron interpretations of Malick’s recent filmmaking are risky. It’s also a matter of taste. You either slip into the pretty, dreamlike, wistful groove of his later films or you don’t, and even hardened arthouse film lovers may find Knight of Cups way out of their comfort zone.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMalick's most distinctive ambition here is his attempt to create an almost pointilistic portrait of a man by evoking acute moments of his past and present, and this sustains real interest for a while, as you wait to see how it all might come together. But as the film just keeps offering more of the same...it doesn't build or pay off with what it seems designed to do, which is to provide either a dramatic or philosophical apotheosis.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThere are moments of visual brilliance here, moments of reverence and even grandeur. He is always distinctive, and anything he does must be of interest. But his style is stagnating into mannerism, cliche and self-parody.