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Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies: There is not one authentic moment of human discourse in the whole movie. Read more
David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The ensemble is stupendous -- howlingly great -- and the music goes deep. Read more
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: The electrifying music helps camouflage the screenplay's hyperbole. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Cadillac Records may be a mess dramatically, but it's a wonderful mess, and not just because of the great music. Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Any of these musicians deserves a Walk the Line or Coal Miner's Daughter-type biopic of their own; perhaps this flawed but enjoyable movie is the first step toward that. Read more
Keith Phipps, AV Club: Adopting the once-over-the-most-famous-moments-lightly approach favored by the sort of movies and retrospectives that VH1 Classic airs on a loop, Cadillac Records plays more like a collection of costumed episodes than a cohesive film. Read more
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The music is, of course, great. But the real strength of Cadillac Records is found in the stories behind it. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Fifty years on, we're still living with the aftershocks of what Muddy and Wolf invented and the Chess brothers midwived, but it's in the air and not yet on the screen. Read more
Tasha Robinson, Los Angeles Times: Just as in real life, no matter what else is going on in these musicians' lives, the music temporarily makes everything much better. Read more
Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle: Martin could have made a much more compelling film by focusing on just a few characters instead of trying to deconstruct an entire record label. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The film suffers at times from biopic-itis -- the narrative unfolds with the requisite heartbreak carefully apportioned -- but it's always eye-catching. Read more
Ricardo Baca, Denver Post: Etta's story will be better told in another film, surely. Read more
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Cadillac Records lacks a center, yet it's an enjoyable ramble, with a feel for what made the early days of rock as wild as any that followed. Read more
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: The result feels even more cursory and rushed than the average music biopic, a genre that's already difficult to depict without lapsing into self-parody. Read more
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: The cast all looks and sings the part -- and Knowles sure fills out James' tight dresses -- just make sure your theater popcorn is coated with grains of salt. Read more
Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly: Darnell Martin races through the script's bullet points with a brisk superficiality that leaves crucial plot points underdeveloped and unresolved, and refuses to engage the dark side of Leonard Chess' paternalism. Read more
Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Fast, crisp and lively, the film packs a half-dozen stories into two hours with little time for melodrama or sermonizing. The dialogue is quick and sharp; short scenes make powerful points. Read more
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's a movie that's, mostly, a soundtrack. But, good lord, still. What a soundtrack. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: You see all the major landmarks, but how enlightening can a road trip be if you never even get off the highway? Read more
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Most of the actors perform wonderful re-creations of the original song that give Cadillac Records entertainment value well beyond the hackneyed story lines. Read more
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Any student of rock history would have to be concerned that Hollywood might have only one chance to get this right. Cadillac Records doesn't manage that, but with this cast doing its own singing, and history this rich, it's close enough for rock 'n' roll. Read more
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: As drama, Cadillac is adequate. As a jukebox musical, it soars. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Cadillac Records exists mainly as a holiday throw-away for those with a deep and abiding love for the kind of music it showcases. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film is a fascinating record of the evolution of a black musical style, and the tangled motives of the white men who had an instinct for it. Read more
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Martin, who also wrote the script, takes liberties with the Chess story, most notably dispensing altogether with Phil Chess. But "Cadillac Records" is such an exhilarating, spirited piece of work that its embellishments and omissions cease to matter. Read more
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A good general rule is that if one performance is good, credit the actor. But if everyone in the movie is doing excellent work, this is no coincidence. This is the product of superior direction. Read more
Dana Stevens, Slate: One of the strengths of Cadillac Records, written and directed by Darnell Martin, is that it's a movie about music by someone who genuinely seems to enjoy listening to music. Read more
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: Anyone who likes pop music or wonders how bands like the Rolling Stones got rolling will enjoy the ride. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Perhaps there were insurmountable legal restrictions. But the movie still serves as a dandy primer for rediscovering a lot of great music. Read more
Trevor Johnston, Time Out: In story terms, its cavalcade of melodrama and conflict isn't always persuasive, but writer-director Darnell Martin's respect for the music shines through. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: While the story could use a tighter focus, the ensemble is strong and the music makes Cadillac Records worth catching. Read more
John Anderson, Variety: Approaching the blues with the enthusiasm of an overcaffeinated brass band, helmer Darnell Martin nonetheless makes some kind of music with the percolating '50s biopic Cadillac Records. Read more
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice: There doesn't seem to be a single fact contained within writer-director Darnell Martin's ham-fisted fiction, which renders pre-rock musical history as yet another downer soap opera. Read more
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It feels disappointingly bloated and too fast-paced by half. Read more