Production notes

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With the requisite combination of humor, sorrow, and outstanding visuals, The Darjeeling Limited will satisfy Wes Anderson fans." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising its Indian setting and noting that Anderson "uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there." Chris Cabin of Filmcritic.com gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it Anderson's "best work to date." Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B+", describing it as a familiar psychological and stylistic journey for Anderson, but with "a startling new maturity." A. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film "an odd, flawed, but nonetheless beautifully handmade object," and noted its sentimental value despite its self-regard. Other positive reviews came from Timothy Knight of Reel.com (3 out of 4 stars), who considered it an improvement over The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and Nathan Lee of The Village Voice, who likened the film to The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and described it as a movie about emotional baggage and letting go. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor noted that Anderson's unique filmmaking approach results in a mix of strengths and weaknesses. David Edelstein of New York Magazine called the film "hit and miss", but praised its sustained tone of lyrical melancholy. Less favorable reviews came from Nick Schager of Slant Magazine, who gave it 2 out of 4 stars and criticized the recurring stylistic elements of Anderson's films as limitations. Emanuel Levy gave it a "C", arguing that Anderson's thematic and stylistic repetition confined the film, despite the new setting and collaborators. Dana Stevens of Slate suggested that Anderson might benefit from directing a screenplay written by someone else to refresh his perspective. Glenn Kenny of Première named The Darjeeling Limited the fifth-best film of 2007, and Mike Russell of The Oregonian ranked it eighth on his year-end list.