Rating: 
Summary: Psychedelic glimpse of the Monsterous Media
Review: In Oliver Stone's ambitious and graphic social commentary "Natural Born Killers," he gives the audience a visually stunning look into the swirling madness of a society that is controlled and condemned by the tabloid media. At the centre of the whirlwind of violence and mutilation are the young lovers Mickey and Mallory Knox (played by Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis), whose love of each other and love of carnage takes them on a murderous adventure spurning everything that tries to stop them. The media, personified by the sleazy and sensationally slimy Wayne Gayle (vividly portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.), pushes Mickey and Mallory on, encouraging their onslaught of death for ratings thus showing the meretricious nature of the media. The film makes the statement that the media has given rise to the depraved nature of our society and is partially, if not completely to blame for the violent and emotionally detached state that we find ourselves in. The violence in the film is a reminder that for fifty years we have given the responsibility of raising our children over to the T.V. (the media) in higher and higher doses and have failed to question the media's negative values and morals where the more violent and the graphic the program, the more viewers it will receive and therefore the more money that will be made. As Oliver Stone says in the introduction to the directors cut, the 150 cuts that were made to the theatrical version have been restored, returning a further sense of chaos and impacting the audience with the full meaning of the intended message. I believe that this film should be seen by people who have an open mind and are capable of seeing things on a deeper level (reading between the lines), and are capable of appreciating art, which is what this film is. "Natural Born Killers" is a masterpiece representing our society and the monstrous media that controls it.
Rating:
Summary: A review of the world
Review: One of the previous reviewers commented that he felt "numb" and "stunned".
I would slightly rephrase that as a change in how you view the world. I rememember many years ago as a (English) biker going to see "Easy Rider" and coming out from the cinema ducking and diving in a paranoid reaction. This did it the other way. now our viewpoint was on the other side of the guns and (however) reluctantly our sympathies are with the two "heroes". This is not bad, we should try to understand. this does not mean that we accept all actions as right but we can start to understand them. We all have monsterous things inside us, some of us bring it out. The great thing about this film is that it presented a pair of MONSTERS and gave us some way of understanding them. This is not to say that the appropriate action to a monster is to crush it. You may sympathise or even understand, but it must not be allowed to do more damage. PS. Ok I know the heroes in Easy Rider were not exactly "Mr Clean" either however in the US of that time it's probably OK in terms of image. After all I think John Wayn is the only hero who rode off into the sunset with a prostitute
Rating:
Summary: IT IS THE GREATEST
Review: In think this is the best movie ever to be released.
It is very creative and is very well casted, acted, edited, directed and scripted.
I dont care what anyone says, and I mean it when I say it
"IT IS THE BEST". Dont worry about what people say about it or what I say about it. Have your own opinion.
It is very violent but it delivers a message.
If you think it doesn't, look harder. It does. Besides the message it's designed to give, it is also the best Action/Drama you'll find. It is a love or hate movie I think. If you rent it and get half way through it and think it's crap DONT TURN IT OFF, the end half of the movie in the jail is better in alot of peoples opinion. I think its all suberb. They couldn't of picked a better cast it's perfect.
DONT MISS IT, IT"S THE BEST FILM EVER MADE
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Believe The Hype
Review: It's Oliver Stone. It's OTT. It's stars are Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. It boasts Robert Downey Jnr's and Tommy Lee Jones's worst screen performances. Rodney Dangerfield is in it. Tarantino removed his name from the screenplay he was so disgusted at what they had done to it. Told straight, it could have been a good movie, a very good hard-hitting movie, instead it's a not very funny, not very well told parody of a movie that fails to get its message across because it's as subtle as a brick and sinks like one...
Rating: 
Summary: Why all the fuss?
Review: This movie is horrible. Why is it listed under "cult favorites"--is there really a following for this tripe? Regardless, here's a low rating to balance off all the (completely irrational) five star ratings above...
Rating: 
Summary: Frighteningly realistic, with creative camera work.
Review: A superb action/psychological thriller that takes you to the edge of your seat and leaves you paralyzed by the mindset of two natural-born (or rather environmentally-raised) killers. The main characters represent the free expression of their pained lives, letting go of all guilt of conscious and hesitation to their impulsive actions. There is also the glamorization of this type of freedom by the press and even a bizarre love adds a strong contrast to overwhelming central theme.
Rating:
Summary: Fady Ghaly's reviews
Review: Shifting from film to video, from color to black-and-white, from 35mm to super 8, from sitcom parody to newsreel parody, and from one film stock to another, the psychedelic direction and frenzied pace completely jarred me out of my complaisance with visual hyperbole. The music was something else as well, for it was an ideal blend that infused a real rhythm into every scene that was at once breathtaking, exhilarating and vehement. The soundtrack drives you with both pounding controversial lyrics to the classic and contemporaneous. Natural Born Killers is a visually-stunning and haunting, wickedly-amusing and devilishly-entertaining slam of violence and media obsession that's, as the synopsis on the VHS package describes, 'the most radical film any major studio has released since A Clockwork Orange,' a belief I would purely have to agree with, although I, unlike many others, don't loathe it for that.
It sickens me to actually see a court case going forward that will attempt to fine Oliver Stone and Warner Bros. for releasing such a controversial film that apparently baffled many. What audiences do subsequent to its viewing shouldn't be blamed upon the filmmakers, these righteous people with a simple aptitude to express; they aren't the ones that committed the crimes for Christ sake, yet somehow are accused for the influence, somehow are given bad reputations. Within each and every one of us lies a 'demon' that awaits to come out and have us act out upon its deeds, awaits for exposure'it's just a matter of how you do that, you see, whether on screen or in real life. I think many as of this day have missed the significance of it all, the whole point of the film. Oliver Stone wasn't attempting to incite violence with it. Stone was merely attempting to make a film that made us experience the true nature of violence, in order to see just how absurd it is when the media makes killers heroes.
Depicting images in his characters' inner worlds that are both experiences from their past as well as the accumulated past, those outside their direct experiences, Stone doesn't make his point any clearer, for they are displayed as being the subconscious driving forces behind their violence. What lies within Mickey now encircles him. Stone splatters his mind upon the walls. It's brilliant! And in spite of the fact that the Motion Picture Association of America threatened to give the film an NC-17 rating 'for extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality', you could have easily named a number of other films that were twice as violent, but Stone has touched a nerve here, because his film isn't about violence, but rather how we correspond with it, and that is sincerely shocking. Though his aim was to have us experience the true nature of violence'an aim that I guess hadn't made its way out of all that fog for many'I'm sure his film was also meant as a warning with regards to where we're heading and what might become of us. We are altering into a society that's much more fascinated in crime and scandal than in anything else'more than in politics and the arts, and perhaps even more than sports, unless crime has become our new national sport' Aside from the director, in whom I think created his greatest picture yet, for it was a stylistically-crafted work-of-art with many techniques in filmmaking that are ever so rare to see in others, the entire cast was spectacular! They ignited on screen! I was utterly impressed watching the actors and actresses comically portraying these morally inferior and mentally-disturbed people whom devoid of any sympathy of feeling toward others. Woody Harrelson (who subsequent to his career in the popular eighties sitcom Cheers, was the only one out of the gang to have a successful movie career) not only enticed Stone because he's a great actor who obviously proved that he can take on drastically new rolls but because, and as Stone himself says in an interview which you'll discover on the Director's Cut, of the iniquity in which he was easily able to make out from his facial appearance, and in general for the fact that he knew he had a bad childhood, which perfectly suits his character, you see, for he was cognizant of the impact this actor would deliver onto the screen, like the vivid man that he is.
Rating:
Summary: Fady Ghaly's reviews
Review: Natural Born Killers is one of those rare movies that, for an individual who has had a bad day or under sever depression from perhaps a dark period of time in his life that cannot be forgotten and forever affected him, would be of a primary choice for their viewing pleasure, for it seems to be doing all of the screaming for you, or whatever else sort of physical act that would be considered as a "rehabilitation". And how could it not? Shifting from film to video, from color to black-and-white, from 35mm to Super 8, from sitcom parody to newsreel parody, and from one film stock to another, the psychedelic direction and frenetic pace totally gave me the sensation that I was in my parent's car in the highway driving like a maniac, not giving a damn how fast I was going, merely trying to do whatever I could to prevent myself from really expressing emotions regarding those sitting right next to me. And with the help of the soundtrack, the affect was amazing, for it was an ideal blend that infused a real rhythm into every scene that was at once breathtaking, exhilarating and wildly intense. The soundtrack drives you with both pounding controversial lyrics to the classic and contemporaneous. Natural Born Killers is a visually-stunning, wickedly-funny and devilishly-entertaining slam of violence and media obsession that's, as the synopsis on the VHS package describes, "the most radical film any major studio has released since A Clockwork Orange"-a belief I would purely have to agree with; however, I, unlike many others, don't loathe it for that.
It sickens me to actually hear about a court case going forward that will attempt to fine Oliver Stone and Warner Bros. for releasing this controversial film that apparently baffled many and mixed many emotions. What audiences do subsequent to its viewing shouldn't be blamed upon the filmmakers, these insightful and righteous people with a simple aptitude to express; they aren't the ones that committed the crimes for Christ sake, yet somehow are accused for the influence. (Within each and every one of us lies a "demon" that awaits to come out and expose of its deeds; it's just a matter of how you do that, you see, whether on screen or beyond it.) I think many as of this day have missed the significance of it all, the whole point of the film. Oliver Stone wasn't attempting to incite violence with it. Stone was merely attempting to make a film that made us experience the true nature of violence, in order to see just how absurd it is when the media makes killers heroes.
(Depicting images in his characters' inner worlds that are both experiences from their past as well as the accumulated past, those outside their direct experiences, Stone doesn't make his point any clearer, for they are displayed as being the subconscious driving forces behind their violence. What lies within Mickey now encircles him. Stone splatters his mind on the walls. It's brilliant!) In spite of the fact that the Motion Picture Association of America threatened to give the film an NC-17 rating "for extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality," you could have easily named a number of other films that were twice as violent, but Stone has touched a nerve here, because his film isn't about violence, but rather how we correspond with it, and that is sincerely shocking. Although his aim was to have us experience the true nature of violence-an aim that I guess didn't make its way out of all that fog for many-I'm sure his film also meant as a warning with regards to where we're heading and what might become of us, for we are the Jerry Springer generation. We are altering into a society that's much more fascinated in crime and scandal than in anything else-more than in politics and the arts, and perhaps even more than sports, unless crime has become our new national sport... In a world like this, anything is possible. Aside from the director, who I think created his greatest, most compelling picture yet, for it was a stylistically-crafted work-of-art with a real message strong enough to have the right to open eyes, and many unique techniques in filmmaking that are rarely ever seen, the entire cast was spectacular; they ignited on screen! I especially was impressed watching Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis comically portraying these morally inferior and mentally-disturbed individuals whom devoid of any sympathy of feeling toward others. Woody Harrelson, who subsequent to his career in the popular eighties sitcom, Cheers, was the only one out of the gang to have a successful movie career, not only enticed Stone because he's a great actor who obviously proved that he can take on dramatically different rolls but because, as Stone himself says in an interesting interview you'll discover on the Director's Cut, of the iniquity in which he was easily able to make out from his facial appearance, and in general for the fact that he knew he had a bad childhood with his father and all, which perfectly suits his character, you see, for he was cognizant of the impact this actor would have among others. He knew. Now is that brilliant or what?
Rating:
Summary: Take Another Look
Review: This film is not "about" the glorification of violence. It is not "about" the influence of the media. To see what is is about, fast forward to the scene in the motel room
where the girl is held captive. In the window, images fly by at a frantic pace, belying Mickey's calm exterior. These images are both experiences from Mickey's past as well as the collective past, those outside Mickey's direct experience. They are shown to be the
subconscious driving forces behind Mickey's violence. What is inside Mickey now surrounds him. Stone splatters Mickey's mind upon the walls. It's brilliant. This scene, and other like it in the film, go a long way to answer the question "Why Mickey? Why Mallory?" A fairly relevant question these days. But these aren't the only "invisible" forces discussed in the film. Mallory senses these forces in the scenes with Russell Means. These forces exert power over the
characters. They are shown as malevolent forces, seeking retribution for the killing of the grandfather. Or perhaps they are the swing of the pendulum once balance
has been destroyed. In either case, they are more powerful than either Mickey or Mallory, who, up to this point in the film, have, together, controlled their worlds:
the masters of death. It is the first time in the film that Mickey and Mallory face consequences, an important statement in the film. At the end of the film, Mickey ascension to almost superhuman power may be because he has shed the skin of his past and joined with the powerful hidden forces.
He is tranformed in some way; a metamorphisis occurs in appearance as well as attitude: perspective. A shift has occurred.
Rating:
Summary: A Little More To It
Review: This film is not "about" the glorification of violence. It is not "about" the influence of the media. To see what is is about, fast forward to the scene in the motel room where the girl is held captive. In the window, images fly by at a frantic pace, belying Mickey's calm exterior. These images are both experiences from Mickey's past as well as the collective past, those outside Mickey's direct experience. They are shown to be the subconscious driving forces behind Mickey's violence. What is inside Mickey now surrounds him. Stone splatters Mickey's mind upon the walls. It's brilliant. This scene, and other like it in the film, go a long way to answer the question "Why Mickey? Why Mallory?" A fairly relevant question these days. But these aren't the only "invisible" forces discussed in the film. Mallory senses these forces in the scenes with Russell Means. These forces exert power over the characters. They are shown as malevolent forces, seeking retribution for the killing of the grandfather. Or perhaps they are the swing of the pendulum once balance has been destroyed. In either case, they are more powerful than either Mickey or Mallory, who, up to this point in the film, have, together, controlled their worlds: the masters of death. It is the first time in the film that Mickey and Mallory face consequences, an important statement in the film. At the end of the film, Mickey ascension to almost superhuman power may be because he has shed the skin of his past and joined with the powerful hidden forces. He is tranformed in some way; a metamorphisis occurs in appearance as well as attitude: perspective. A shift has occurred.
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