It's a fascinating film that I enjoyed thoroughly.
70
Arizona RepublicKerry Lengel
Arizona RepublicKerry Lengel
Unlike, say, Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison in "The Doors," Thomas makes no attempt to create a convincing facsimile of Hank Williams, which is just as well, since he bears little resemblance to the sinewy singer.
60
Village Voice
Village Voice
It portrays Williams in a generally sympathetic light without whitewashing his vice-loving, belligerent ways or mythologizing them in a bid for postmortem psychoanalysis.
This one is for Hank Williams fanatics only, and Mr. Thomas puts a dark and subtle sheen on a disappointingly watery script. Cover versions of Williams's songs - several sung by his daughter, Jett - remind us why he mattered, even as the movie fails to do the same.
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
With a foretold ending and long stretches of pure driving, The Last Ride squanders its potential, much like its tragic subject.
40
Time Out
Time Out
At least Thomas gives a suitably burned-out performance as Williams. He's almost enough to melt your cold, cold heart.
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Thomas offers particularly fine work, but the underwritten script, which relies too much on sentimentality, gives him little to do.
Dramatically thin, formally uninspired and thematically weak, The Last Ride really goes nowhere.
25
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
A typical wax-museum reproduction of the American South in which every detail is Southern in bold all caps, and not a single scene over the course of the film's 102 minutes rings true.