89
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Film ThreatFilm ThreatThis minimalist masterpiece is one of the greatest American films to come out of the 1970’s.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineCertainly not an average car chase movie, Two-Lane Blacktop is perhaps director Monte Hellman's finest film.
- 100The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsHellman gives viewers plenty of time to study every detail, dwelling less on action than on quiet, small-town vistas, rundown diners, and forgotten stretches of Route 66.
- 90Time OutTime OutIt's absolutely riveting.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThe movie starts off as a narrative but gradually grows into something much more abstract—it's unsettling but also beautiful.
- 80The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyTwo-Lane Blacktop is a far from perfect film (those metaphors keep blocking the road), but it has been directed, acted, photographed and scored (underscored, happily) with the restraint and control of an aware, mature filmmaker.
- 80The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyIn Hellman’s film, Taylor and Wilson exert a negative charisma: their presence is both powerful and blank, deeply expressive in its neutrality. They offer one of the few original post-sixties reconfigurations of the movie star. Their manner is a perfect match for the story, and for the mythic, symbolic landscape in which it’s set.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhat I liked about Two-Lane Blacktop was the sense of life that occasionally sneaked through, particularly in the character of G.T.O. (Warren Oates).
- 75Slant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierSlant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierAmerica exploded in the ’60s; Two-Lane Blacktop is the post-apocalyptic road trip.