BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Majikat I had no idea, just how good this film would be and one of those I'd always bypassed in the past. With a fantastic all star cast, the film deals with each individuals circumstances whilst providing some great comedic lines along the way, loved it!!!

The Movie Diorama If there ever was such a likeable, watchable, enthralling, witty, hilarious and heartbreaking film, it's this one. Who knew a group of people in their golden years moving to India would make for such a fun and moving film. It's a story about rediscovery. Rediscovering one's self, rediscovering life and rediscovering happiness. Making the most out of what you have left, embracing a new and foreign lifestyle and just tackling new obstacles that are thrown your way. The sheer resonating force the the plot is filled with is exceedingly joyous and is sure to make you smile with glee. Evoking a variety of emotions from happiness to sorrow. It's a whirlwind, both in its narrative and themes. With more than eight lively characters to fuel the story, you would imagine balancing their screen time to be quite the challenge. Alas, screenwriter Ol Parker and director John Madden utilise their experience to overcome this obstacle, and with vibrancy. I mean the script contains British wit that makes the film ever so charming. A racist Dame Maggie Smith, a gay Tom Wilkinson, a grieving Judi Dench and a promiscuous Ronald Pickup are just a few enigmatic characters that stay in the hotel. Perhaps trying too hard to cater for a wide variety of character types. Some characters are more developed than others, and certain elements in the plot are rushed because of this, however it's well balanced overall. Then injecting the urban Indian culture into the mix with a seasoning of love, and we have ourselves an international hit. The recipe works and clearly the results show. Everyone gave excellent performances that provided much needed emotion. The beauty of such talent on and off screen means that it is accessible by all ages. Every type of audience can appreciate and be engaged with what is being shown. Some may consider this to be too "fluffy", but come on...sometimes we just need a nice film to cheer us up!

ianlouisiana Sweet and naive J.Dench or sour - faced cynical M.Smith?That is the question. Both these formidable ladies play to their strengths here,comfortably stealing the film without breaking sweat. Although messrs Nighy and Pickup deliver their customary performances they are whistling into the wind. This is a slight tale of British pensioners retiring to live in India. Some find it Iiberating,,others vexing. There is nothing particularly entertaining or surprising on show but it is unobjectionable,almost soporific in tone. Quite why "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" has attracted such attention is not obvious to me. The apparent popularity of "Bollywood" to the main stream may account for this fascination,coupled with a jollop of post - colonial guilt . I can't help feeling that a more accurate picture of the British abroad can be gauged from "Benidorm". What The Garveys would make of Jaipur might be very different.

SnoopyStyle Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) recently lost her husband and wants to do something new. Judge Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) abruptly quits to return to India. Douglas Ainslie (Bill Nighy) and Jean Ainslie (Penelope Wilton) can't afford a good retirement having lost their money. Racist Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) needs a new hip. Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) is lascivious. Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) leaves her daughter's family to find a husband. They all travel to Jaipur, India for their various reasons and stay at a run-down hotel run by Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel).It's a lot of old British folks trying to grow in a foreign environment. It's not anything outstanding but it does have great actors. They make this good by their will and performances. It has a light exoticism. It's not terribly dramatic. Each story has just enough revelation to keep it interesting. Dashwood is probably the most compelling. Without these mastercraftsmen, this wouldn't work.