Queen and Country 2015

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Modest but still disarming ... Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A deeply personal memoir, so well written and carefully observed that it draws the viewer into the ambience of postwar England with a persuasive power that makes you feel you're part of the same experience. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: John Boorman's sequel to his masterful 'Hope and Glory' doesn't equal its predecessor, but still offers a vivid snapshot of Army and family life in post-War England. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: A perfectly enjoyable service comedy, playing like a defanged British version of M*A*S*H that never actually gets to Korea. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A worthy follow-up to a classic. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: There's no way around the fact that this is a lesser endeavor than "Hope and Glory," but when it's good, which is often enough, "Queen and Country" glows with a master storyteller's sense of memory. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Don't let the British pedigree and nostalgic trimmings fool you: this is no Masterpiece Theatre exercise but a broad, high-spirited, riotously funny service comedy, on par with M*A*S*H and Stripes. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: I hope Boorman follows through and makes a trilogy. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Tonally, the movie can't decide whether it's a comedy, a romance, or a wistful wartime madeleine. What it's missing is the sense of joy and wonder of its predecessor. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter: Rambling and unfocused but not without its moments, John Boorman's 19th feature film, Queen and Country, represents a very belated sequel to the director's 1987 feature Hope and Glory. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: Boorman's point of view and on-screen alter ego seemed stylistically in sync in the first film, but "Queen & Country" - though often charming - has a tendency to wander and strain, which might say enough about capturing '50s England. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Sturdy, moving, nostalgic in a good way. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: A lovely movie, as achingly bittersweet as all nostalgia, marked by surprising moments of commonplace beauty - a brilliant morning sky, a gently burbling Thames - and real rough emotion. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Far from a searing drama yet seldom takes the glib way out. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: It works, but not entirely. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: One of a handful of great movies that look at World War II through the eyes of a child, "Hope and Glory" is distinguished by mischievous good humor and by the unashamed acknowledgment that war can be fun as well as horrible. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Queen and Country finds exhilarating comedy in places usually reserved for drama, violence, loss. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: To watch "Queen and Country" is to get the impression of a man who has gone through life and actually learned something, which not everyone does. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A wartime comedy of manners, it's a delightfully whimsical portrait of 1952 England, a time and place of class discord that's both uproarious and politically pointed. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: The director gets all the period detail exactly right and there are plenty of historical and cultural references that evoke a sense of nostalgia. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: It's never going to be more than a footnote to the far superior Hope and Glory, but sometimes, when you're feeling nostalgic it can be fun to dig out the other, less interesting photo album. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: A direct sequel to 1987's Hope and Glory -- and the best thing that John Boorman has made since. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: The movie is a sweet-natured, easy-going bit of storytelling, and while Bill may be the central character, Queen and Country is really a movie about England. And it's a love letter to a particular time and place Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Boorman's movie oozes fond memories but doesn't quite know how to make them relevant. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: A little too silly to be taken seriously, yet also too heavy to get all the laughs it very clearly craves, "Queen and Country" at least shows where Boorman's schizoid, if less than wholly satisfying, sense of storytelling comes from. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: It has taken John Boorman almost three decades to make the sequel to his much-cherished "Hope and Glory," but "Queen and Country" turns out to be well worth the wait. Read more