An important film and a fine addition to the Van Sant filmography.

| Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 20, 2020

Promised Land delivers the promise of a future if we just open our hearts and minds.

| Nov 27, 2019

Promised Land is a good film that was on the cusp of being great. Regrettably, the unwillingness to dig deeper into its important issues ends up lessening the film's impact.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 25, 2019

What future the children will have without their parents signing gas leases, given the state of the agricultural industry in America, is not the concern of anyone in this movie or anyone who made it. Neither was making a realistic, original film.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 18, 2018

Promised Land is inherently flawed, but the journey to self-destruction is mostly enjoyable.

| Oct 22, 2018

Promised Land is a smart, character driven drama that takes an insightful look at a compelling environmental issue... But as the second act progresses, the movie begins to lose momentum.

| Aug 21, 2018

The result is interesting, well-acted and always watchable, particularly on the ruthless tactics employed to win the day. But it also feels a little simplistic and it's disappointing to see Hollywood formula creeping in right at the end.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 2, 2017

Ultimately, it comes down to the difference between narrative and advocacy, and advocacy (in most cases) isn't terribly dramatic.

| Jun 21, 2016

Van Sant's direction isn't nearly as flashy as it was in 2009's "Milk," but he provides the right amount of visual propulsion to keep the story moving along.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 16, 2016

The road to movie hell is paved with good intentions.

Full Review | May 3, 2015

Damon and Krasinski's script isn't completely solid, but it follows a believably wayward path to a lovely, muted ending.

| Nov 5, 2013

An engaging film about the dangers of fracking and the crass manipulation employed by its proponents.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 18, 2013

The film never makes a convincing argument against fracking, probably because it's too busy being cloying.

| Original Score: C | May 13, 2013

Gus Van Sant's Promised Land is an engaging performance-driven drama that works more often than not.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 7, 2013

... Van Sant's eye and sense of poetry no doubt elevate what's essentially an updated Frank Capra story ...

| Original Score: 87/100 | Apr 27, 2013

'You can't make natural gas from shale without fracking' doesn't quite have the same ring to it as 'You can't start a fire without a spark'.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 25, 2013

The pro-environment message here is more effective because of the film's subtlety, a casting twist featuring the likeable Matt Damon, and a script that doesn't insult its audience.

| Original Score: B- | Apr 23, 2013

There are some good scenes early on, and the conflict at the centre is real. But it's sentimental, Capraesque fare ...

| Apr 21, 2013

Thee film-makers' sincerity so indisputable, that Promised Land never entirely spins off the rails. It's hard to swallow, but easy to digest.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 19, 2013

Hydraulic fracturing might not be the most compelling subject for a movie, but it provides a topical backdrop for this engaging drama about ethics.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 19, 2013