Rating: Summary: Good movie, bed ending. Review: I liked this movie a lot, but when it ended, i hated it. O.K. Michael Douglas gets killed by old man Duvall, what is there not to like about it, a lot of things. I am only 15 years old and have seen more then 1000 R-rated movies, i like old B/W films too, but win it comes to the ending of this film, i does what to cut that video in 2. I am not saying that this is a bad movie, i am saying the ending is does down the hall.note: Rated R for Strong Language and Violence.
Rating: Summary: Things that make you snap!!!!!! Review: This film is really out there, but it dosen't lose its focus,& is quite funny at times, Michael Douglas is a unemployed guy who loses his sense of reality, it begins on a very hot day in L.A., sweating in standstill traffic, he exits his vehicle & attempts to walk home, on his journey every thing that can tick him off does, beginning with not having change for a phone call, then trying to get change in a convenience store, then being told to buy somthing in exchange which in turn will not give him enough,he then loses it on the clerk, as he walks through L.A., he is then approached by street punks, loses it on them, then is almost killed in a drive-by shooting in retaliation, they miss & he is calm & collective as he steals their guns when they end up wrecking, now armed he is hungry, when he tries to order breakfast at the local restrurant, he is told that it is lunch time, one of the most memorable moments is the scene where he is on a pay phone & a guy ask why he is taking so long, the response is a bullet riddled phone booth in which Douglas fire his guns & says: "it's out of order", Douglas plays this role to perfection as a disgruntled man who feels like life has cheated him, taking on a white-surprimast, angry golf players who knock a ball his way just for walking across the golf field, to a rude road construction worker who won't give a good reason for the road needing to be fixed(ever wonder what was wrong with the road that you thought was fine) Robert Duvall is the detective that pursues Douglas' mayhem, this film studies both men very well, as it does their fustrations, somthing that many of us could or do identify with, Duvall like Douglas feels out of place,his last day of retirement, & yet you sense that his fellow officers can't wait for him to go, the ending is somewhat shallow, but it is a true depiction of modern day life fustrations that we have all encountered at one time or another.
Rating: Summary: Joel Schumacher schmucks up a potentially powerful film ... Review: This film is about as subtle as an anvil in a Roadrunner cartoon, and what's more, it serves the corporate, capitalist machine it pretends to question. For example, early in the film Michael Douglas's character rubs a cool Coke can against his forehead; later, he whines about being "not economically viable." A movie with such blatant product placement and such careless use of stereotypes can't hold its own; when a "not economically viable" character sells the audience Coke, what might have been be irony becomes hypocrisy. So, instead of watching what happens to someone when he finds himself part of the social minority, we see a series of Saturday Night Live skits. Instead of rendering the landscape in all its urban complexity, with all its troubled idiosyncrasies, Schumacher gives us a few cheap quips out of a second-rate stand-up routine. This is parody, not satire. It's too bad, because there are neat parallels between Douglas's and Duvall's characters that might have been more delicately probed. But what else do you expect from Schumacher?
Rating: Summary: Compelling; A must-see! Review: When this movie was first released on the big screen, I read many reviews by professional reviewers that blasted it for its racial stereotypes and overall negativity. I had to go see what all the fuss was about, and I am so glad I did. I left the theater thinking this was one of the best movies I had ever seen, and my opinion has not changed to this day. And to the professional reviewer whose review (above) says 'what's the point?', I respond with: Since when does a movie have to have a 'point' to be worthwhile? Does every movie have to make some kind of political statement for it to be worth anything? Besides, I think this movie makes several points; you just have to be paying attention and be willing to look deeper than what you're accustomed to. First off, the movie would not work without the stereotypes. They are essential to our view on how Michael Douglas' character sees the world he lives in. The movie is violent, negative, and very sad, but that atmosphere is offset by a sense of humor that is worked in brilliantly. I got the impression that the writer and director did not compromise their message in any way, and thus I am surprised that this film actually got made in these days of political correctness. Bottom-line: This movie is not about politics or race or good vs. evil. It is simply the tragic story about one typical man and his inevitable fall into obscurity. I think we can all relate to his sadness more than we admit.
Rating: Summary: Superficial? So What? Review: I really enjoyed this movie, and I found it even oddly cathartic. Who hasn't felt frustration working through life? This movie is often criticised for using stereotypes and being full of contrived scenes. All true, but the story moves right along at a great pace, and Douglas gives a great performance, as does duvall as a weather-beaten cop near the end of his career. True, it may not be taught in film schools, but I found it extremely watchable and great fun. One of the final shots of Douglas, sprinting along a peer toward his wife, is extrememly powerful and haunting. Suffice to say, it was a movie that sort of crept up on me (not expecting much from it), and certain scenes have stayed with me
Rating: Summary: Underrated, excellent viewing!! Douglas and Duvall shine. Review: I don't care what others say, this for me is one of the most underrated movies of all time - Michael Douglas's performance in this outshines his Oscar-winning one in "Wall Street", but no one at the Academy seemed to notice. Same goes for Robert Duvall in this movie - he definitely deserved at least a supporting actor nomination. Oh well, what's important for me is that at least a few other people and I are able to see this movie for what it is: a fantasy version of how a middle class white man in America might implode & explode in a regular day of urban frustration (this is somewhat along the lines of Glenn Close's performance in "Fatal Attraction" - that is, someone actually acting on their inner feelings of despair and pent-up anger). A simply marvelous piece of entertainment - and Tuesday Weld deserves a nod of recognition for her role as Duvall's once-beautiful, long-suffering and beloved wife. A classic!
Rating: Summary: Unfortunately, it's a Schumacher film Review: The premise for "Falling Down," a man whose sanity is shattered by the everyday evils of society, is admittedly a strong one, something that a talented director could have taken into intriguing waters. Unfortunately, Joel Schumacher, the director who turned the Batman film series from the creme de la creme to the creme de la crap, takes a promising concept and guts the essence out of it, turning it into a paper-thin, uninteresting exercise in exsess that ignores serious issues and makes little sense. Instead of allowing Douglas' character to grow angry and desperate in subtle ways, the way countless better directors would've done, we have Douglas shooting bazookas into the sewers to blow up a bridge. Worse yet, he learned how to fire the weapon from a young child who thught he was filming a movie (believe me when I say that kids aren't that stupid). His first violent breakdown happens ten minutes into the movie, throwing buildup to the winds and putting a temper tantrum against an Aisan stereotype in its place (one of many stereotypes; none of these characters are very realistic). Every explosion of anger is simply that; an explosion, something too far-fetched to be convincing. Then again, perhaps that could be said of all of Shcumacher's work: too big, too sensational, too shallow to be compelling. The film does benefit from a strong cast (Douglas is perfect at playing intensity), but it's simply not enough. Avoid.
Rating: Summary: We All Fell Like This Every Now and Then Review: GREAT MOVIE. one of Micheal Douglas's best movie. It starts off in his car. he's in a traffic jam and it's hot out and his airconditoning doesn't work. I've felt the same way he did. he gets out of his car and says he's going home to the guy in the car behind him. i like it when the puncks start asking for his bag because he's on their land. Micheal calles their hill a "... ground" the punck says give us your ...bag. he says"okay, okay i just want you to know i was going to respect your place and treat you like a man but you couldn't leave it alone could you. you couldn't let a man sit for 5 minutes on your piece of .... hill. fine you can have my bag i'll get it for you." then he gets a bat and wacks them. it's a great movie. he's just having a bad day. trust me you'll love it.
Rating: Summary: P.C zipped Review: I saw this movie and liked it a lot except the producers had a potential white male hero, so they decided "Oh yeah, let's turn him into a psychotic husband." This could have been a great movie...It was however, one additional reason for the above mentioned rage. The ending was flat as day old beer. B.
Rating: Summary: Entertaining - and dead on! Review: Reviewer Maltin's query of "what's the point?" leaves me baffled. The point is that virtually every one of us can relate to the situations Douglas' character confronts and has at some point fantasized about finally cutting through it all. I thought this film was a dead-on (and often witty) commentary on contemporary society which avoided cliché in its portrayal of its very human central characters. Those who could relate to this film might also want to check out the novel "Arcadia Falls" by Rand Johnson which, though a very different experience, is also a story of a man who finally makes a stand against a world gone wrong.
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