Metacritic Movie Ratings
Cadillac Records Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 90

  out of 100

  The New York TimesA.O. Scott

  This movie is crowded and sprawling, and if it rambles sometimes, that's just fine. Like those big, boxy Caddies (and like Howlin' Wolf, if he did say so himself), it's built for comfort, not for speed. It hums, it purrs and it roars.

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• 83

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  It's an enjoyable ramble, with a feel for what made the early days of rock as wild as any that followed.

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• 80

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  In watching this film, it's best not to worry much about the film's fidelity to history but rather simply lean back and enjoy one great jam session on film.

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• 75

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  Cadillac Records is an account of the Chess story that depends more on music than history, which is perhaps as it should be. 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.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  Cadillac Records may be a mess dramatically, but it's a wonderful mess, and not just because of the great music. The people who made it must have harbored the notion, almost subversive in a season of so many depressing films, that going out to the movies should be fun.

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• 63

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  The film features too little about Berry (an engaging Mos Def), who crosses over to great fame.

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• 60

  out of 100

  Variety

  Most of the details are right-on in Cadillac Records, though the director's efforts to sell it sometimes steers the film into mawkish or hokey territory.

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See all Cadillac Records movie reviews at Metacritic.com