72
Metascore
39 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversWitherspoon has nailed it before, notably in "Election," but her portrayal of June is astounding in its vitality and richness.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanA big, juicy, enjoyable wide-canvas biography with a handful of indelible moments.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThis movie has a driving plotline that "Ray" lacked - a love story. To me, that's what elevates this film.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyWalk the Line is a strongly acted, musically vibrant, conventionally satisfying biopic of country/rock/blues legend Johnny Cash and his second wife, June Carter.
- 70L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorAn engaging biopic that would totally lack surprise were it not for Reese Witherspoon, and a healthy touch of ambivalence about the populist myth that bound The Man in Black to his adoring public.
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken TuckerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Ken TuckerThere are too many musical performances in this movie, even for a country fan such as myself, to keep the city slickers engaged. This bespeaks great faith in the charisma of the stars, who merit it. They also, however, deserved a better script.
- 60The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyI couldn't imagine anyone better suited to play the role. But this movie is a lot less interesting than it might be. Though it's not bad--in fact, it's rather sweet--it's too simple a portrait of a very complicated and calculating entertainer.
- 50Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanIn no way obsessive, Walk the Line is more sincerely--which is to say, more boringly--sincere. It doesn't leave you with much to think about, except maybe the empty vibrato of effective ventriloquism.
- 50The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayEnds up being another one of those life-of-an-entertainer films that reduces an artist to his most embarrassing moments.
- 50Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyFor all the affection Mangold feels for Cash and Carter, the movie feels oddly dispassionate.