Trying to make a “contemplative” film doesn’t justify wasting so much talent. It’s astonishing how a great director and an incredible cast ended up delivering something so mediocre. Poor Emmanuel Lubezki , the cinematography is the only saving grace. And the plot? It goes like this: guy falls for a beautiful woman, takes her to the beach… then they break up. Repeat that five times, and that’s the movie. This could’ve been a 15-minute short, and even then it would’ve felt too long.

This is quite literally the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It really can’t even be called a movie. Completely pointless, no plot. You could not pay me to watch it again.

Im just exceedingly grateful I didn't pay to watch this movie. Successfully made it through about 22 min, then shut it off. Terrence Malik would have been better suited as an IRS auditor or finger painter perhaps. I don't know why on God's green earth someone would give him such a beautiful budget and incredible cast to completely destroy like this. Such a shame.🥹🤦

Junk. Arty junk. No idea what it washes

I presume the investors invested more than the $558,000 this "movie" grossed. So hopefully they lost money which may result in nobody investing in such self indulgent Hollywood nonsense in the future. Awful movie. Great cameraman/men/women but that's about the best thing I could say. I managed to get through 1 hour then could bear no more. What a waste of money and an hour of my life.

POETIC! Visually Striking! Mesmerizingly Beautiful Cast! Outstanding Soundtrack! Great Theme!... The ending lacks hince the 0ne star...missing!

Nope, Tree of Life was good. I gave this movie a half an hour, finally shut it off. The only Christian Bale movie I've shut off.

Poster child for pretentious drivel. There is nothing to understand,follow, or grasp here. Very disappointed since Thin Red Line is one of my favorite movies and introduced me to Malick. If this movie was not directed by Malick it would sink a directors career.

A dreamlike movie with paradisiacal images that nonetheless perfectly illustrate in contrast the inner emptiness felt by the main character, played to perfection by an almost ethereal Christian Bale.

Not even worthy of 1 star. Not even if just wanting some monotonous background noise that drones on and on. For 40 minutes there is no dialogue between the actors, it is simply one voice of a behind the scenes reader. An inane movie that wastes the valuable and limited time of life.

Visually amazing with such great images and expert direction and cinematography that I didn't care if I didn't quite understand it.

I'm all for challening film making. In a industry where we ge nothing but the same things repackaged to us, terrible remakes, and everything has to be a franchise it's refreshing to have something just try to be artistic and unique that challenges traditional narratives. Unfortunately this is not the next Pulp Fiction, Breathless, or Nashville. There is a fine line between being artistic and grounded in fundamental storytelling elements. This completely ignores it and while some shots are amazing and call back to some of Mallick's best films cinematography wise this more guilty than anything of all sizzle and no steak and that's when it does something worthwhile. Mallick in this has crossed the border from challenging and become way too self indulgent and pretentious looking down on anyone else who can't understand. I can "feel" like I'm supposed to take away something from this and there are snippets here and there of a slight story but it never forms a whole and its almost deliberately making things too challenging on purpose like your being setup for failure unless your the most hardcore of hardcore and committed cinema junkies. But, more importantly even if I was smart enough to understand this and on the directors level, I still would'nt care enough because this is REALLY boring. The music is so boring, generic, and forgettable. Everything else is just convuluted and abstract beyond belief and recognition. Terrance has been going down this road for a while but this truly signifies for beter or for worse hes crossed the point into pure abstraction. Stay away from this.

Brilliant!! The art of filmmaking.. Poetry in motion!

Malick has completely abandoned narrative here, instead he's capturing fragmented memories, dreams, and emotions. I know people find his more recent efforts tiresome, but I think that's a mistake. Here's a filmmaker really baring his soul to the audience while trying to find meaning in his own suffering and I believe that's a perspective worth experiencing.

The lack or directness of dialogue is welcome as Bale navigates beautiful women, Cali house parties, movie sets & clubs with a slow & playful stride. Scan the rooms with him - when a man can controls his destiny, what will he do?

What a boring, narcissistic load of dribble this movie is. Outside of going on one big ego trip, I have no idea what Malick is trying to achieve here.

A movie that makes no sense whatsoever. Profoundly boring. A true Mallick movie.

I'm a huge Christian Bale fan but this one lost me. Weird weird weird. Watched about 10 minutes of it and I was done trying to figure it out.

I remember seeing posters and online buzz for this film well before it came out, when Malick's name meant absolutely nothing to me. Then it was delayed constantly thanks to a two-year post-production period, and it took a full decade to finally get around to actually watching it. Christian Bale plays the main character of this film, but was never given any pages from the script. That should tell you everything you need to know to get a sense of what Knight of Cups is going to be like - very stream-of-consciousness, minimal dialogue, prioritizing the smaller moments and nonverbal communication to progress the plot. Bale had little idea of the plot and the film was apparently made with an intensely improvisational tone. Instead of a narrative to really guide the film, the screenplay collides into the visual and editing styles; Bale's Rick is adrift in this world, and his wandering nature is reflected in the film as a series of experiences which often have little in the way of action or overt significance. Altman would be proud of such a superficial depiction of Hollywood. There have been several Malick films that I've been absolutely put off by, and it's because of his unique stylistic cues - the prioritization of form over function, the haughty narration, the long stretches where absolutely nothing happens - they all play right into what you would expect from a filmmaker's filmmaker that nobody ever said 'no' to. But here it all actually seems thematically suitable and plays off very well, the only downside being that the style still makes a two hour movie feel like four. Finally, an artist in a movie that actually hates themselves without being witty to make their depression seem even more tragic. But sometimes, palm trees are just palm trees, they don't say shit. (3.5/5)

The continuous wandering between the frivolities and the worldly life, and the too much marked dichotomy of the protagonists, only accentuate the imbalance of the film which results confusing and inconsistent. A lost opportunity to talk about the decline of man and fame under a more profound point of view. The intimacy is only a facade, actually too superficial to reach the soul of the audience.