56
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyFalling Down is the most interesting, all-out commercial American film of the year to date, and one that will function much like a Rorschach test to expose the secrets of those who watch it.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFalling Down does a good job of representing a real feeling in our society today. It would be a shame if it is seen only on a superficial level.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversSchumacher could have exploited those tabloid headlines about solid citizens going berserk. Instead, the timely, gripping Falling Down puts a human face on a cold statistic and then dares us to look away.
- 70Washington PostWashington PostDouglas's intentionally robotic -- and intense -- performance holds its own. He's scary, normal and funny all at once.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliSure, the viewer who wants to see a tightly-paced thriller with gun-play and emotionally-satisfying moments won't be disappointed, but there is a little more here than simple escapism. Although it takes a number of wrong turns, Falling Down still has the power to disturb.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovD-FENS is a cut-out, a cartoon Everyman we're supposed to feel sorry for and can't. He's a bad parody in what will doubtless be an over-analyzed film about loss of control. It's just too bad nobody on the creative end seems to have had much control either.
- 50Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonDouglas again takes on the symbolic mantle of the Zeitgeist. But in Falling Down, he and Schumacher want to have their cake and eat it too; they want him to be a hero and a villain, and it just won't work.
- 50Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrSlickly directed by Joel Schumacher, who sees that each and every button in this unabashedly manipulative film is pushed hard, Falling Down could have been deeply disturbing if it weren't so cartoony, so determined to glibly escape the moral consequences of the vicarious white-rampage fantasies to which it caters. [26 Feb 1993, p.25]
- 42Christian Science MonitorChristian Science MonitorIt's a distasteful jumble that stirs up the worst instincts of its audience by heaping abuse on Bill, encouraging us to identify with him, then prodding us to enjoy his bursts of venom and violence. [1 Mar 1993]
- 38Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelFalling Down is an intellectually sloppy, rebellious working-man adventure film that is little more than a set piece for Michael Douglas playing out a revenge-of-the-nerds fantasy. [26 Feb 1993, p.C]