--- title: "Falling Down: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/falling-down/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/falling-down" critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Falling Down (1993): what the critics said Critics' score 61 from 9 reviews: 5 positive, 1 mixed, 3 negative. The reviews lean positive, with praise clustering around Michael Douglas’s performance as a man consumed by frustration and rage. His restraint and intensity give the urban anger a disturbing human presence, even for critics uneasy with the film’s politics. Supporters also value Joel Schumacher’s mixture of dark humour, suspense and discomfort, finding more here than a straightforward vigilante story. Several see a pointed treatment of alienation and social anxiety. The split is wide over how much that treatment explains. Admirers acknowledge familiar plotting, moral loose ends and a loss of momentum in the final act. Detractors question the film’s honesty more fundamentally: The New Yorker sees crude revenge dressed as satire, while the Los Angeles Times finds simplistic scapegoating rather than insight into urban problems. The Guardian credits the parallel police storyline with greater sophistication, but finds the whole undermined by melodrama and a lack of conviction. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 4/5. The film offers a bold and darkly funny portrait of urban alienation, with Michael Douglas excelling as a man driven by powerlessness and rage. It is undermined slightly by a loss of momentum in the final act but remains compelling thanks to strong performances. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-f89tfo/falling-down/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 26 February 1993. The critic views the film as depicting a man's sadness turning into madness after feeling obsolete and irrelevant, rather than a simple revenge story. Douglas's subtle performance and the realistic, non-triumphant ending are highlighted positively. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/falling-down-1993) ## Time Out — SGr Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). Schumacher's film expands beyond typical vigilante stories by critiquing broader social systems. It mixes humor, tension, and unease while noting some plot and moral loose ends in its portrait of urban rage. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/falling-down-1) ## Sight and Sound — Carol Clover Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 1993. The piece examines the film's controversial reception and its portrayal of a middle-aged white man's violent rampage through Los Angeles as a response to perceived oppression. It highlights the story's resonance with contemporary American anxieties around race, class, and masculinity. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/white-noise-carol-clover-joel-schumachers-falling-down) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 3 June 1993. The critic finds the film attempts a Taxi Driver for the nineties but ends up confusing and insufficient, with entertainment value undercut by melodrama that replaces ironic comedy. The parallel storyline with the retiring cop is more sophisticated but cannot save the whole from lacking conviction. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/03/falling-down-jamon-jamon-review-1993-archive) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 1993. The critic calls the film a crude vigilante picture disguised as social satire, criticizing its premise of an average guy exacting revenge on society. The oppressive atmosphere and direction are noted but the overall approach is seen as disingenuous. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/03/08/slow-burn) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 26 February 1993. The review finds the film slick and commercial in pointing out urban stresses but criticizes it as greedy and oblivious to real problems, relying on simplistic scapegoating. It notes the direction and script capitalize on tensions without deeper insight. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-375-story.html) ## The Independent 4 June 1993. The critic views the film as a disturbing 'everything-stinks' rant that echoes Taxi Driver but struggles with ideological confusion, mixing paranoia and political correctness. Schumacher fails to convey the protagonist's mindset cinematically at first, but Michael Douglas brings the role to life with his charmless intensity. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-we-re-not-gonna-take-it-any-more-falling-down-joel-schumacher-s-journey-into-taxi-driver-and-network-territory-1489515.html) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby 26 February 1993. The review describes the film as a mischievous and entertaining suspense thriller about one man's slide into madness amid urban frustrations. It praises the direction and performances but notes the story's familiar tropes. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/26/movies/review-film-urban-horrors-all-too-familiar.html) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 30 June 2009. The critic finds Falling Down a gripping drama powered by Michael Douglas's excellent central performance, particularly strong in its first half. They single out the film's enduring relevance to society for praise, while noting weaknesses in the narrative and final act. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/falling-down-blu-ray-review/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The critic praises Michael Douglas's astonishing, low-key performance as a man driven by societal decay rather than madness, and commends Joel Schumacher for exposing Los Angeles as a sweltering asylum of moral sewage. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/falling-down-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/falling-down.md