'To The Wonder' Review Roundup: Roger Ebert's Final Review Praises Film Despite Mixed Reception From Others

This weekend Terrence Malick's new film "To The Wonder" will make its theatrical and VOD Premiere.

The film, starring Olga Kuryalenko, Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams, tells the story of Marina and Neil who go to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Marina meets a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane.

The film made its world premiere in Venice and later at the Toronto Film Festival where it received mixed reception. The Hollywood Reporter stated "However accomplished Malick's technique might be in some ways, this mostly comes off, especially in the laborious second hour, as visual doodling without focused thematic goals."

The NPR also disliked it and said "There's nothing to "get." There really isn't. It's a story about a troubled relationship that, for me, ultimately chokes on its own self-conscious flourishes."

Slant Magazine was also negative and stated "Throughout Terrence Malick's film, the new and old are incessantly twinned, blurred into a package that suggests an experimental dance piece."

However there were some great reviews. Time Magazine stated "A ramble through the ecstasies of the natural world as experienced or ignored by little people on a giant, gorgeous planet."

Finally, recently deceased critic Roger Ebert enjoyed it and gave it 3.5 stars out 4. The review, which was his last published work, stated, "'Well,' I asked myself, 'Why not?' Why must a film explain everything? Why must every motivation be spelled out? Aren't many films fundamentally the same film, with only the specifics changed? Aren't many of them telling the same story? Seeking perfection, we see what our dreams and hopes might look like. We realize they come as a gift through no power of our own, and if we lose them, isn't that almost worse than never having had them in the first place?" He added, "There will be many who find 'To the Wonder' elusive and too effervescent. They'll be dissatisfied by a film that would rather evoke than supply. I understand that, and I think Terrence Malick does, too. But here he has attempted to reach more deeply than that: to reach beneath the surface, and find the soul in need."

Malick last directed "The Tree of Life" for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and Best Picture. He is currently in post production with his untitled new project.

Kuryalenko best known for her work on "Quantum of Solace" was last seen in "Seven Psychopaths" and will next be seen in "Erased" with Aaron Eckhart and "Olivion" with Tom Cruise. Affleck last won the Oscar for his film "Argo" and will next be seen in "Runner Runner." Bardem last appeared in "Skyfall" and will next star in "The Counselor" alongside Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, and Michael Fassbender. McAdams was last seen in "The Vow" with Channing Tatum and will next be in "Passion" with Noomi Rapace, and "About Time" with Bill Nihy.

Magnolia will release the film and is rated R for some sexuality/nudity.