Metacritic reviews

This is one of the most wildly romantic movies in ages.

Summer sequelitis is upon us, but the season is unlikely to bring anything more remarkable than Richard Linklater's sweet, smart, and deeply romantic Before Sunset.

Yep, this movie is basically a yakfest, but an incredibly fluid and involving one, and if you have any kind of affinity for either of the characters, you’re bound to find the picture a kind of miracle.

The new film, which unfolds in real time over the course of 80 minutes, is a deeper, darker, altogether more memorable experience. It doesn't extend the characters so much as fulfill them.

The movie is an O. Henry-like conceit--the slenderness of the initial premise is part of the charm--but the anecdote becomes almost momentous as it goes on.

In the spirit of the original, Linklater closes with one of the best endings of its kind since George Romero's "Martin."

In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.

The sequel is an uninterrupted 80-minute dialogue between two richly imagined and performed characters.

A savvy sequel that should speak to anyone who's let that one great love slip away.

There is something uniquely unforgettable in the way Linklater, Hawke and Delpy (equal collaborators on the script) find nuance, art and eroticism in words, spoken and unspoken. The actors shine.