89% Robot & Frank

All Critics (74) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (8)

"Robot & Frank" hits all the right notes - romantic, fantastic, tragic and sweet.

There's a warm and poignant interplay between the co-stars.

Langella ... is tremendous.

It may not seem like an even playing field pitting an actor as powerfully intense as Frank Langella opposite a robot, but that's the game plan behind the waywardly endearing, slightly futuristic fantasy Robot & Frank.

Much of Robot & Frank is (frankly) resistible, including the climactic narrative twist, but there is also a likeable oddness that transcends the sentimental contrivance.

An endearing movie about a human and his mechanical new buddy.

... a marvel of the highest order. Robot and Frank manages to seamlessly blend comedy, science fiction and drama into a film that is hilarious, truly original and utterly heartfelt

This blend of sentiment and genre fancy is not unlike something Ray Bradbury might have contrived for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Robot & Frank is an airy, engaging flight of fancy. It's also part caper film, part character study, and part allegory about aging. Robot & Frank shouldn't work, but it does.

..never hits the easy and obvious beats of a buddy comedy; there's no sentimental bonding between man and mecha man. Similarly, though it feints toward romance, the relationship ... resolves in an unexpectedly bittersweet way.

"Robot & Frank" is a study of a man who lives with his past mistakes but can't shake how truly alive they made him feel when he was making them, regardless of what they cost him.

Hodgepodge of moods built around an unlikely story of friendship between a man and his service robot, the film carries itself confidently, with occasional moments of significant emotion.

They get the robot right, with fluid movement (by dancer Rachael Ma) and canned warmth in its user-friendly voice (performed by Peter Sarsgaard).

What a weird, winning little movie is Robot & Frank.

The chief spectacle here -- and it's a good one -- is Langella in gruff, curdled mode, an underappreciated master actor slipping seamlessly into a bespoke role.

"Robot & Frank" is so endearing it's easy to forget it's science fiction.

The movie is sweet and agreeably unambitious, derailed only by an egregious third-act twist.

Frank Langella gives a terrific performance as the second of the two title characters in this modest but heartfelt science-fiction comedy.

There's no denying the, err, chemistry between Langella and his nameless buddy.

Amusing and ingratiating, leaving a bittersweet afterglow

Smart and sweet, Robot and Frank feels familiar while you're watching it yet consistently finds ways to catch you off-guard.

Further proof that sci-fi need not be high-budget spectacle, and can actually do a good little job exploring the human condition, our characters, and our memories.

Frank Langella's presence would be enough to pique my interest in any film. Robot & Frank offers him a modest starring vehicle with a science-fiction spin, and the result is one of the most enjoyable indie films of the year.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robot_and_frank/

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