The New York Post review of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey gave the film zero stars and described it as a big bag of BS, calling it a roadside wreck that fails to engage or surprise. The piece, assessing the Kogonada-directed romance starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie, notes the 108‑minute theatrical run time and an R rating for language.
Plot and performances are described as a mismatched attempt at magical realism that never quite lands. The story follows two singletons who meet at a rain-soaked wedding and embark on a road trip through time, guided by a car GPS voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith. Their journey leads through a sequence of forgettable forests and fields, punctuated by doors that open onto memories from the past. The review says Farrell fails to maintain the magnetism he brings to darker material, instead fading into a film that does not demand or reward a bold performance. Robbie is described as unmoving in a role that could have benefited from more warmth, and the propulsion of the romance feels hollow rather than revelatory. A scene in which Farrell sings the title tune from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is singled out as cringe-worthy, underscoring the film's aimless nostalgia.
The film also features Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline as car rental staff who facilitate David and Sarah's journey, but their appearances register more as distracting insertions than purposeful contributions. Robbie, widely recognized for a range of performances since I, Tonya, is cited as not reaching past an automaton-like cadence in this outing. The review notes that the movie leans into memory play rather than building a cohesive emotional through-line, and that the visual and narrative conceits never accumulate into a meaningful saga.
David Reiss, the screenwriter, is pointed to as a notable talent behind The Menu, yet the review argues that his script in this instance feels puzzling rather than insightful. While some moments show cleverness in the construction of memory sequences, the overall effect is described as undercut by a lack of warmth and surprise. The film is criticized for failing to justify its own existence as a narrative, a bold premise undone by overfamiliarity and a willingness to default to whimsy over tension.
In the end, the reviewer states that this film does not belong in the pantheon of magical car cinema. It is not big, bold or beautiful, despite the title's promise, and its best efforts are outshined by the dilemmas of character and plot in service of a whimsy that never fully materializes. The critique reinforces a common sentiment that the romance between two ostensibly dynamic stars is squandered on a script that values mood over meaning.
The visuals, while polished, are not enough to salvage a film that seems allergic to momentum. The critique concludes that the movie, which arrives with high expectations given its leads and director, ultimately reads as a curio rather than a contender, a misstep in a year that has seen Farrell and Robbie deliver sharper, more memorable work elsewhere. Critics who value narrative propulsion and emotional resonance over glossy nostalgia may find more to engage with in this production, but the overall tone remains one of disappointed expectation rather than discovery.
