A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Bombs On Rotten Tomatoes After Brutal Reviews
Romantic fantasy A Big Beautiful Journey is stumbling out of the gate, drawing mixed-to-negative reviews and a sagging Rotten Tomatoes score despite filmmaker Kogonada at the helm and a starry cast led by Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, with Kevin Kline, Lily Rabe, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Penned by The Menu writer Seth Reiss, the film’s prestige pedigree is meeting a lukewarm critical reception.
I was hoping this one would be a swoony home run, but early word on Kogonada's romantic fantasy 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' is not great. The movie is pulling a soft Rotten Tomatoes score right now, despite a cast that looks bulletproof on paper. Also, yes, you might see the title floating around without the 'Bold' in the middle. That seems to be a typo elsewhere; the movie is actually called 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey'.
The quick verdict so far
The film has landed to mostly mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. One of the harshest takes puts it bluntly:
'The only destination A Big Bold Beautiful Journey approaches in the end is an unfortunate bore.'
On the other end of the spectrum, there is at least one very enthusiastic outlier:
'This is the most emotional movie of the year. It's sweet, tender, and oh so romantic.'
What critics are saying (and where they land)
- Variety's Tomris Laffly calls the film a slog that ultimately goes nowhere compelling, hence the 'unfortunate bore' dig above.
- Nick Schager at The Daily Beast says it plays like a cutesy fairy tale about fear and forgiveness that collapses into what he labels a pile-up of preciousness.
- Slant Magazine's Anzhe Zhang argues the leads are sketched so thinly that even revelations like his past heart condition and her grief over her mother never hit emotionally.
- The Times (UK) critic Kevin Maher finds the script heavy and the direction sugar-coated enough to make you never want to see Robbie or Farrell do this kind of turn again.
- Then there is Jonathan Sim at ComingSoon, who is all-in with a 9/10 and that big swing of a pull-quote about it being the year's most emotional movie.
The setup: who made it and who is in it
Kogonada, the filmmaker behind 'Columbus', directs from a script by Seth Reiss, who co-wrote 'The Menu'. If you're wondering why expectations were high, here's the lineup: Margot Robbie stars as Sarah, Colin Farrell plays David, and they're joined by Kevin Kline, Lily Rabe, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hamish Linklater, and Jodie Turner-Smith. On paper, that's a loaded cast. In practice, the critical consensus says the material doesn't rise to meet them.
Rotten Tomatoes check-in
As of right now, the movie sits at 45% on Rotten Tomatoes from 56 published reviews. That number will almost certainly move once more critics weigh in around the U.S. release, but the early signal is, well, wobbly.
When you can see it
'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, September 19, 2025. If you love Kogonada's vibe or you're there for the Robbie/Farrell pairing, you may still find your way to it. Just maybe temper expectations based on the early chatter.