--- title: "Two-Lane Blacktop: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/two-lane-blacktop/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/two-lane-blacktop" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Two-Lane Blacktop (1971): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 9 reviews: 5 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews lean positive on Two-Lane Blacktop, with praise clustering around its hypnotic road atmosphere, landscape photography and sense of loneliness. Warren Oates receives repeated attention: critics find his damaged, storytelling character a human anchor in a film whose race gradually loses momentum. The New Yorker also champions James Taylor and Dennis Wilson, finding their blank charisma well suited to the film’s landscape and its reworking of screen stardom. The available reservations concern the low-key script and a journey that can feel joyless even to admirers. Radio Times finds that the direction, quirky charm and Oates’s performance compensate for the writing, offering a more qualified endorsement than the strongest notices. The recorded ratings range from mixed to warmly positive, with none negative. Three entries lack enough accessible review text to establish their reasoning, however, so the precise grounds for some of that caution remain unclear. ## Empire — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 2007. Wise presents the film as an underrated, beautiful and hypnotic road movie. He singles out its mysterious brilliance in capturing loneliness and life on the road. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/two-lane-blacktop-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Dennis Lim Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 2007. Lim regards the film as a bleak, beautiful, hypnotic road movie whose race deliberately loses momentum. He singles out Warren Oates’s damaged, fabulist character as its all-too-human anchor. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-09-ca-secondlook9-story.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1970. The review praises the film as an engaging portrait of street-racing and human nature. It especially singles out Warren Oates’s performance as outstanding. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/two-lane-blacktop-2-1200422343/) ## Slant Magazine — Joseph Jon Lanthier Rating 4/5. 7 January 2013. The critic regards the film as a joyless but compelling post-apocalyptic road trip, and calls its Criterion Blu-ray a strong presentation. The review particularly praises the vivid landscape photography and the transfer’s rendering of outdoor colors and textures. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/two-lane-blacktop/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2014. Brody regards the film as a distinctive reworking of the movie-star tradition. He especially praises Dennis Wilson and James Taylor for performances whose powerful, blank charisma suits the film’s mythic landscape. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-two-lane-blacktop) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The page shows a browser verification screen, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint from the review is available. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/two-lane-blacktop-1971) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 1971. The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. Its headline and date identify the article, but the review’s specific praise or complaint is unavailable. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/08/archives/crosscountry-ride-and-a-chase-in-spain.html) ## Time Out — TM Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The visible metadata does not establish the critic’s overall verdict. It suggests the review discusses Hellman’s unconventional approach and its box-office consequences. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/two-lane-blacktop-1) ## Radio Times — Robert Sellers Rating 3/5. The review finds that Hellman’s direction and quirky charm make up for a low-key script. It singles out Warren Oates’s performance as a career best. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-wrhnfd/twolane-blacktop) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/two-lane-blacktop.md