Promised LandMovie Reviews

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So-so Based on 3,571 reviews
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So-so
Written December 29, 2012
More than an Environmentalist Manifesto

by pedsarq

It's about a small town that becomes the target of a natural gas company and is on the brink of selling itself for millions. The problem is, the small town is beautiful and it's home. Will all that fracking hurt? The answer is obvious to the audience, but Matt Damon, Francis MacDormand, and John Krasinski do a great job and make this about human stories and the relationships that make life worth living. The movie (and story) is flawed and often sounds like preaching, but there's enough to keep things interesting throughout. I recommend it for those who like small town stories.
- 23 out of 29 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 6, 2013
Promised Landing To DVD

by Darkola

Matt Damon, as always, did a great job in this movie, he never seems to disappoint with his acting, no matter what role is thrown at him, and the story itself is a good story about a company coming into a farm town to try and secure rights for drilling for natural gas, the money folk could make off of it, but also the damage it could do to the land, but its not an over the top story, and thats what holds this movie back. There is nothing throughout this movie that jumps out at you and says "WOW", nothing that shows there was much put into it as far as action, which its not an action movie, nor nothing showing it was an expensive movie to make either. I could have easily seen this on tv for a made for tv movie, and dont feel its worth really seeing at the show for what tickets and popcorn and things cost these days. I myself wold give this 2 1/2 stars out of 4 myself, but would wait for the DVD to come out to see this one ... Enjoy :)
- 18 out of 22 found this review helpful.
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Oh No!
Written January 4, 2013
Terrible

by fun-at-the-movies

This movie is soooo boring and preachy - obviously the movie makers had an agenda and didn't really care about much else - Damon is so BAD and the rest of the cast is sleep walking- probably Damon's worst film ever - although he has had several really bad ones lately - typically small town vs the big, bad evil company which Hollywood does 15 times a year, although usually much better than this one - put me to sleep
- 16 out of 23 found this review helpful.
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Oh No!
Written January 6, 2013
Promised Land - a Flop

by JUNIEBME

Very boring, can't find anything really good to say about the movie and to me it is quite misleading as to what the plot is suppose to represent... save you're money..
- 10 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written January 3, 2013
Promised Land

by cathysoza

Once again, Damon gives his all, well-paced, full speed ahead performance. The film's theme is near and dear to my heart, since I was born and raised in small San Joaquin Valley cow and crop farm town. I thought the guy who plays the environmentalist was perfect in the role. Francis McDormand's performance is another winner, but I don't think she'll ever top her performance in Fargo. Though it is not a huge role, the actor who portrays the owner of the gas, guns and groceries road stop store was absolutely perfect. The scenery was spectacular. I think the under-10 age kids might not get the drift of the mental conflicts the characters are wrestling with, even with demonstration by Krasinski in their classroom. It sure was an in your face look at what the natural gas industry has been cooking up. The tug of war of the characters remind me of Travolta's and Duva'sl characters in A Civil Action, although Travolta's character was based on a true story in which the character finally prevai
- 13 out of 19 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 12, 2013
Plot thin

by revclaus

One of those activist movies (don't get me wrong, I'm an activist too!), but it wasn't interesting enough to suit me. I love Matt Damon, but I think his talents were wasted on this one.
- 8 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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Oh No!
Written January 4, 2013
Uhhhh... what ?

by shaqoneal

I honestly could not find a solid 10 mins or more in this movie to be "fufilling" or even somewhat entertaining. All jokes were predictable and the funniest stuff was the pickup line in the bar (which you can see for free in the trailer).

Don't bother. If you like Matt, then wait for DVD or Netflix streaming. Full price is a rip off for this one.
- 10 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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Oh No!
Written January 13, 2013
bozo trite

by dpbrew

We couldn't get a seat in Life of Pi, so sat for this one. Let's see: Mr Cool drops in Podunck City to rip everyone off, goes for a drink, and the coolest girl in town flirts him, lets this total stranger sleep it off in her house; bad guy turns good guy, lives happily ever-after. What a bunch of BULL.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 7, 2013
Promised Land

by suebgranny

It was a "nice" movie, no violence, no sex. Storyline was what attracted me to the movie, but I was disappointed in the movie itself. Slow to develop, characters were predictable. I wish I had waited until it came out on DVD - wasn't worth the money spent.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 5, 2013
Nothing New Or Special....A Basic Advocacy Plot.

by Alon Patterson

The talent had little to work with in terms of a screenplay here. Too bad because this film features several notables whose skills were greatly underutilized. This film is pretty much a plain, at times bland, story with a couple of fairly large plot holes. It's not really worth the price of today's evening tickets but a matinee might be a fair exchange. You might want to wait for the DVD, stream or cable. You'll probably be glad you did.
- 8 out of 11 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 7, 2013
Promised Land

by CoCo Lopez

I was very disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing a good movie. Story was slow. My whole family lost interest within the first 30 minutes. I would recommend it as a $1.00 Red Box rental.
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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Go
Written January 10, 2013
surprisingly fun

by lesliemschwartz

i had no idea what i was going to see. and although fairly predictable, boy gets girl and saves the world, i liked it! Matt Damon looks marvelous, think and youthful!
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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No
Written January 6, 2013
Don't waste your money on this film.

by Yeller Dawg

Your seeing this movie in previews on television and in theater trailers and wondering what is about? Well here, I will sum it up for you. It is about big business's trying to move into a community to force it's residence out because they believe it is a natural gas resource and doing so by all out lying to the people. I can't believe I actually stayed a wake for this hunk of garbage. I will give you my attention grabbing lines for this film. "Matt Damon has never been worse", "Frances McDormant is a careless A-hole", "Hal Holbrook turns in a mesmerizing performance as Frank Yates" and "Sure to be a Razzie nominee. Don't waste your money on Promised Land. You will be wishing you can have your time and money back.
- 7 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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Go
Written January 7, 2013
If You Don't Take A Stand....

by Meriweather

will you inspire discussion, debate and an exchange of ideas?

Promised Land pretends that it isn't taking sides, and, as a result it may not be as interesting as it might be. The ways to manipulate "us" are clearly outlined, the actors do a creditable job with the script, and the question about how far corporations in America are allowed to go, although clearly defined, are not addressed. In fact, there's not really a question, just a sorry outcome.

The movie's message seems to be that no matter how far we, as consumers go, the corporation will go further, and we will always end up on the short end of the bargin. There is always another patsy to take a corporate sales position and sell us a bill of goods.

At a time when we are all asking questions about these things, would it have been a welcome challenge to have something that inspired us to find answers, rather than just another vehicle to showcase the vast talents of Matt Damon?
- 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 6, 2013
This movie was no Silkwood, Good Will Hunting or Gasland; it was a safe way to get the message about fracking out to the public.

by Joliet Movie Critic

This movie was no Silkwood, Good Will Hunting or Gasland, it was safe
way to get the message about fracking out to the public. I have to
agree with the other reviewer on this film. Matt Damon seems to have
lost his passion for acting in this movie or maybe he was playing safe
so not to lose funding for future movies he wants to make. It is just
hard to believe that Matt Damon's character all of sudden grows a
conscience after being promoted to a VP position. Or how someone who
excels as one of the top lease signers for his company could sound like
such a bumbling newbie when talking to the public regarding his
companies intentions. There is a surprising twist but I understand how
companies i.e. chemical, utility or mining companies will do anything
to get their way. This movie could have delivered a harder impact on
such an important subject. I look forward to reading your reviews and
happy movie watching.
- 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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