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Movies / On DVD / August Rush
August Rush

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August Rush (2007)

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Reviews Counted:116

Fresh:44

Rotten:72

Average Rating:4.8/10

Consensus: Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:23-11-2007

Synopsis: AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid... AUGUST RUSH is part romance, part gentle fantasy, but this sweet drama is all heart. When young cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet at a party in the mid 1990s, it's love at first sight, and they spend the night in each other's arms. But Lyla's father forces them apart, even though she later learns she's pregnant. Later, an accident lands Lyla in the hospital, and though her father tells her that her baby died, the child survives and is given up for adoption. AUGUST RUSH jumps to the present and begins to follow Evan (Freddie Highmore), an 11 year old who has grown up in a boys' home. As Evan embarks on a crusade to find his parents, he imagines he can communicate with them through his gift for music. His journey to New York City brings him into contact with Wizard (Robin Williams), a man eager to capitalize on the child prodigy's talent. Wizard gives Evan the name August Rush as he begins performing all over the city, but the boy's ultimate goal is to find the parents he has never met. From FINDING NEVERLAND to CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, Highmore has displayed an almost prodigious talent himself. He's a gifted young actor, and this emotional story is the perfect venue for his acting. AUGUST RUSH isn't a film for the cynics, but even the hard-hearted in the audience will have difficulty not being touched by this sentimental film. As in Evan's life, music plays a central role in AUGUST RUSH, and it's tough not to let your heart soar along with the melodies. Though it could draw comparisons to OLIVER! and ANNIE, this is a unique and heartwarming film. [More]

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Starring: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, William Sadler, Mykelti Williamson, Ronald Guttman

Director: Kirsten Sheridan

Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Screenwriter: Nick Castle, James V. Hart
Story: Paul Castro, Nick Castle
Producer: Richard Barton Lewis
Composer: Mark Mancina
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for August Rush

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Uplifting and heart warming, this is a perfect date movie.

Full Review Source: Heart 106.2 | comment Comment
01/22/08
Simon Thompson
Simon Thompson
Heart 106.2

Nauseating drama with poor direction, dodgy performances and a sappy, cliche-laden script.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/29/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Watching this yucky emotional drama is like being sprayed with treacle from a high-pressure hose.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
11/23/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you can stomach an ultra- contrived plot with a ridiculously schmaltzy finale, August Rush will be music to your ears.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
11/23/07
Sun Online

A show-stopping compendium of clichés, bogus emotions, duff dialogue and cringeworthy performances. Yet it’s so naively idiotic that it’s hard to hate. Better just to ignore it.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/23/07
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Passionate about the importance of music, August Rush is an ambitious family film that just about keeps its head above the rising waters of gushing sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/23/07
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Packing every cliché, coincidence and contrivance known to man (well, Hollywood screenwriters) into one glossy, saccharine, syrupy package takes some doing; but Highmore’s open-faced charm makes Evan’s sappy story tolerable.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
11/23/07
Rob James
Rob James
Total Film

Yes, August Rush is cheesy, almost embarrassingly so, but it's also irrepressibly sweet.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/23/07
Fairn Roberts
Fairn Roberts
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film-makers ought to be reported to social services.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
11/23/07
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

This inspirational drama gets three stars for oddity value alone.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/22/07
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unapologetically preposterous, but it is a (very sweet) fairy tale and Highmore is captivating.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/21/07
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fans of soppy movies will probably love it, but everyone else should steer clear.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/15/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Those who are prepared to forgive the film its stock characters and lack of emotional subtlety may allow themselves to be ravished -- by the sumptuous soundtrack, if nothing else.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/26/07
Lee Marshall
Lee Marshall
Screen International

A heartwarming fairy-tale that is undeniably sweet, even if it occasionally crosses over into sappiness.

Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | comment Comment
07/27/09
Mike Scott
Mike Scott
Times-Picayune

"The only thing astounding about this movie is how bad it is."

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
09/08/08
Heather Huntington
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

"Someone in Hollywood must have it in for Thanksgiving. How else to explain the cruelly timed release of August Rush, a wretched confection that only the most determined will be able to count among their blessings?"

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment 3 Comments
05/08/08
Thomas Peyser
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

While many films require a suspension of disbelief, August Rush asks viewers to terminate their disbelief without severance and have security escort it from the building.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

Its almost desperate earnestness actually turns out to be its greatest appeal -- August Rush does believe in fairy tales, it does it does it does!

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
04/17/08
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/08
Boxoffice Magazine

August Rush kind of feels like a 2-hour coming attractions preview. Lots of fragmented stuff happens, without ever connecting the dots in between.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 2 Comments
03/10/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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