$110 Million A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Buried Under Negative Reviews
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, directed by Kogonada, has not been well received by critics. The film, starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, has so far earned a 39% score on Metacritic and 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was originally scheduled for release in May, but Sony postponed it until September to showcase it at fall festivals.
The story follows a 37-year-old man named David, who embarks on a road trip to a wedding in a 1996 Volkswagen Passat equipped with a mysterious GPS. There, he meets a woman named Sarah, who the next day joins him on a “big bold beautiful journey” to Burger King and then to a lighthouse museum. Their odyssey continues at an art museum in Chicago, where Sarah gains a chance to reconcile with her late mother. The mysterious GPS then guides them to a future in which they are married and happy. After returning to the present, they must decide whether to continue the journey or not.
Slashfilm wrote in its review: “Not that big, rarely bold, and only beautiful on the surface. It could have been an adventure.”
A Variety critic wrote: “The tonal inconsistency severely damages the two immensely talented leads.”
Next Best Picture commented: “Kogonada imitates works, often replicating Jacques Demy and Hayao Miyazaki. At the same time, it isn’t enough when its central relationships cannot summon the spirit of longing that makes any viewer desperately enchanted.”
The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, writing: “The unreality of the film never quite equals the dishonesty of what happens when two people well past the spring of youth decide to fall in love. But it does have the will to neutralize disbelief and offer the goodwill of a fantasy.”
The Hollywood Reporter noted: “All I know is that the story of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey takes place on the Starship Enterprise holodeck [from Star Trek], and everything about it feels deeply artificial.”
The film was made with a budget of at least $60 million, while Sony acquired its distribution rights at the European Film Market for $50 million. However, based on the latest estimates, it will gross no more than $8 million in its opening week. Sony did not spend much on marketing, and aside from Margot Robbie’s nude appearance on a red carpet, it generated little buzz.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey will be released on September 19.
