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The franchise is almost unparalleled in film history in that its sequels are actually about where the characters are at a decade later, rather than a plot they are involved in, how they have grown or not since we have last seen them, and because the actors have aged along with the characters, make it as much a sociological experiment (like a fictional version of Michael Apted's "Up" series) as an examination of love over time. I have seen all three films in the theater opening day, and I am happy to say (self-serving as it sounds) that I find myself having grown (or not) in many of the same ways that Celine and Jesse have in their lives. I was more nervous in 2004 about a second installment and considerably more feverishly excited this time around. I am happy that Linklater, Hawke and Delpy keep pressing forward and I look ahead to 2022-ish for a fourth installment (perhaps not with Before in the title though). Hawke and Delpy have a unfathomably complex chemistry that could never have been foreseen before the first film and by now understand these characters so well and contribute to the creation of their dialogue that they seem incapable of rendering a false or untrue note. It is no hyperbole for me to say that Celine and Jesse are my favorite male/female couple in the cinema.

I am planning to see the film a second time in the coming weeks so I don't want this to be definitive thoughts by any means. Before Midnight plays with what we have come to expect from the characters and the structure of the films in large and small ways without betraying what the core of the franchise is about: the ways in which love evolves over time and what it means when a couple has been together long enough that what they adore and what they hate about each other are so entwined that they can't be separated. It also engages in more than a few nods and winks to the first two films so that it can be considered more self-reflexive than the first two without ever seeming fake or "inside baseball." The Before films are fiction and so there is a sense that they can't help but idealize romance, even in its less than perfect moments, but they are also more willing than 99.9% of all other romances to push past notions of happily ever after and soul mates and the "perfect one" to divine the work that goes into any couple who fell "in love" and then have been together long enough to know their partner as well as, if not better, than themselves. Reducing my response to pure emotional states, I was more enamored of the first two the first time around, would still claim Sunset as my favorite as of right now, but acknowledge that this is by far the trickiest, thorniest, most honest (and yes, funniest) of the three. Next time around Celine and Jesse, Hawke and Delpy will have hit 50 and I will be close behind. And but so, I will be more than happy to spend another couple of hours with them.

Jay Barney: I have not seen it yet, but this is one of those films that has been on the calendar of me and my girlfriend for a while. The reviews appear to be quite good. The storytelling style is so unique and different against most other films, especially big budget summer block busters. Before Midnight will end up being a success, but I am not sure how many people have seen the first two, which is critical. We plan on seeing it this week.

Max Braden: I think it's brilliant that they've continued the series the way they have. I really loved the first two. They've created a sense of familiarity (and probably voyeurism) with audiences over time, so it doesn't surprise me that Before Midnight would continue to do well. I think I'm going to wait for it on DVD, though.

Tim Briody: It's quite possibly the least likely trilogy in film history, as Man of Steel just made more than all three of the Before films have in the time it took you to read this sentence. I appreciate that Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have continued the story of Celine and Jesse even if it's just not for everyone.

Kim Hollis: I think this wide release performance is about as good as you could hope for. It has a very limited audience and the series isn't for everyone. How amazing is it, though, that we've gotten three films out of these characters? And the reason we want to go back isn't because of action, or a crazy story, or because it's a cash grab. It's because Jesse and Celine mean something to those of us who have seen them grow from young couple on a spontaneous meet cute to current day lovers with children. I very much love the first two films; I'm still digesting Before Midnight.

On a melancholy note, I first learned of Before Sunrise back in 1995 from Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of At the Movies. I was really sad to think that Ebert didn't get to see Before Midnight (I checked around to see if he might have gotten to see it earlier in the year and could find no evidence that he did. I'm hoping someone proves me wrong).

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