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Directed by: Joel Schumacher Starring: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey After sitting in a traffic jam, former Cold War engineer William Foster (Douglas) has decided he has had enough. He abandons his car in the middle of the road, and decides that he is going to head over to his ex-wife's (Hershey) house to attend their little daughter's birthday. On his way to his daughter's birthday, he confronts everything from road construction to high convienence store prices to even a neo-Nazi, all while getting bigger and better weapons. There is a man tailing Foster though, and that's the police officer Prendergast (Duvall). Prendergast is at his last day on the job before moving to Arizona at the behest of his anxiety-stricken wife. He takes up the case of Foster's rampage when no one else will. What made this movie particularly good for me was the fact that Foster was such a great character. He fights only for 'good', whether it be confronting gang members about the use of city property or confronting a restaurant about paper-thin burgers. The only aspect of the movie I didn't like was the fact that Prendergast seemed a bit cliched. You half-expect him to go into the chief's office to hear that he's a loose cannon and he's off the case. All in all, this is a great movie that really does ask if we're 'Falling Down'. I'd give it a 4.5 or a 5.
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May 2, 2004 13:06
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Awesome movie, voted a 5 eventhough it deserves a 6!
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May 2, 2004 14:01
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I liked this movie. I would call it more of a dark comedy than an action movie. "Drama" is probably the most accurate label for it, if you have to choose only one. This film is very funny and the characters are well written and portrayed. It's a good movie to watch if you enjoy symbolism and interpretation. A mini-analysis follows, containing some spoilers. I disagree with HobbitGrease's conclusion that Foster always fights for good. By the end of the movie, it's obvious that he's a psychotic and poses an extreme danger to his ex-wife and child, among others. One of the things that makes him such an interesting character is that he alternates between justified attacks (the gang members, the Nazi) and unjustified attacks (the shopkeeper, the fast food employees). One of the reasons Foster's wrath is so unpredictable is that he lashes out not at those who cause problems, but at those who manifest them in front of him. Rather than petioning the government about road construction or writing the restaurant's corporate headquarters about their breakfast policy, he blows up a truck and threatens innocent employees. Foster, with short temper and jingoism, represents a bitter, American conservative pushed to the edge. A shot that I found very interesting in the movie was when he shoots the Nazi, but hits and shatters the mirror that reflects his image. Ostensibly, he has poor aim, but one can also say that he subconsciously seeks to destroy that image because he knows that he is really just like the Nazi. In contrast to Foster is Prendergast, who instead of lashing out people who don't deserve it, chooses to bottle up his anger. For most of the movie, he suffers abuse at the hands of his coworkers and wife, and takes it lying down. In the end, however, he finally stands up for himself, punching out the annoying cop and telling off his wife and boss. While Foster is far too quick to anger and Prendergast at first is spineless, Prendergast eventually reaches a happy medium. <plugged spoilers in properly - NMN> Somebody fucked around with this message at 12:18 on May 4, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 15:39
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I think it's hilarious that you guys took this movie seriously. Don't get me wrong, the movie itself is sheer brilliance, but as far as being a valid social commentary, I think my derisive laughter answers that question. If you're reading this and have never seen the movie, let me just tell you: it's about a guy who goes on a "rampage" through the Los Angeles area because he is "just fed up". It is by far Michael Douglas' best role to date, and he is fanstastic as "D-FENS". Yes, that is his character's name. They never give him a real name, because the director/writer, in a stroke of brilliance, decided that he represented the fabled everyman, and should therefore be named for his vanity liscence plate, which in turn, represents the loyalty he had to his blue-collar, supposed-to-be-secure government job, (who betrayed him, by the way, that's why he's fed up) thereby proving his worth as an everyman. Only an actress as underrated (wink) as Barbara Hershey could pull off the role of his estranged wife. The chemistry between them (what there is of it) is hysterical, and the final confrontation is nothing short of movie gold. Throughout this rampage, Michael meets many strange denizens of the modern metropolis, all of whom are obvious racial and social stereotypes, meant to represent their entire ethnicity/class, and the everyman's struggle with or against them. But mostly against. Among these fine individuals are a Korean shopkeeper  , a couple of Hispanic thugs , and my personal favorite, a Neo-Nazi Miltary Surplus Shopkeeper!Seen the avatars around here with the guy standing with a briefcase and a baseball bat? The quotes saying things like "I'm the bad guy? When did that happen?" Plenty of people have them. Yeah, this is that movie. Watch it; because it's hilarious.
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May 4, 2004 06:51
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I really loved this movie. They did a great job making the viewer feel the paranoia and the sense of the world "closing in" around Douglas. I also liked his decent from a quasi-renegade hero to an imbalanced nutjob.
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May 4, 2004 06:54
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Ever been shirtless, running through the streets wielding a stick with a nail driven through it? Ever smashed your fist into a riot shield while screaming through a bloody hankerchief tied around your mouth, to prevent the tear gas from incapacitating you? Neither have I. So I think this movie is as close as you could get to that feeling. ]-[ate_Sandwich fucked around with this message at 07:16 on May 4, 2004 |
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May 4, 2004 07:07
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I don't know about any "messages" that the movie supposedly had. I just liked watching the guy get angry and beat the poo poo out of people.
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May 4, 2004 11:58
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The symbolism is interesting since people brought it up, but I watched it without any eye for that and had a great time doing it. I thought it was a great story darkly satirizing the everyman's rage against his livelihood and lifestyle that holds up really well a decade after it was made.
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May 4, 2004 15:38
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"I'm the bad guy? When did that happen?" I love that movie. It's hilarious and meaningful at the same time, a winning combination. Michael Douglass has a lot of classic one-liners in that movie too. I still laugh at this movie every time I watch it. Voted 4.5/5
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May 7, 2004 05:15
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The best film Joel Shumacher has ever done, and probably ever will do. Hard to believe the same person who gave us Batman and Robin also gave us this brilliant movie. One of the more defining movies of it's era. 4.5/5
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May 7, 2004 07:03
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quote:WebSlinger came out of the closet to say: so damned sorry to quote all this. but this short analysis is just worth repeating for its clarity. i have nothing further to add.
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May 15, 2004 16:40
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This movie, if nothing else, does an excellent job of getting you to relate with a character you could never otherwise relate to. Douglas turns into a complete lunatic, but his descent is slow, and it's him we end up feeling sorry for. It also has some great laugh lines in the fast food restaurant. 4.5
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May 15, 2004 16:59
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Voted 4.5 It's certainly a well made movie, and other than the already mentioned annoying cliches of Pendergrast, the movie is flawless.
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May 15, 2004 17:23
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quote:supdewds came out of the closet to say: Yes. The moment where you really see that has has fallen from hero to psychotic is when he confronts the nazi storekeeper. He has bought the little snow-globe for his daughter, and it falls out of the bag (or else the storekeeper throws it) and breaks. As this happens, you can almost see Michael Douglas snap. He goes berserk on the storekeeper, changes from his 'everyman' clothes to fatigues, and really seems to lose himself. This is probably my favorite movie in terms of symbolism; I feel like the director wanted to get a message across, and he did it without resorting to extremely convoluted methods. 5 of 5. This movie never gets old for me.
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Apr 3, 2005 23:47
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You can watch this movie on two levels. First you have the surface angry snaps and goes ballistic movie. There you have some classic and sometimes out right halarious scenes(the fast food resturant, the convience store, the blowing up of the construction site ect). Then there is the deeper analysis and symbolic movie and it also works on this level too, with the differences between the cop and foster being front and center. Though I must say the say first half foucuses on the first level and the second half focuses on the second. Falling down is one of the cult classics that may not become a timeless well known classic but will stick around regardless because alot of its commentary is timeless. 5
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May 1, 2005 19:07
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I guess I don't see the deep symbolism in that supposed masterpiece. Schumacher just doesnt surprise, Douglas is his usual flawed character with questionable motives. You're supposed to connect with him because everyone around him is greedy, evil and/or selfish (in the case of the korean shopkeeper, all three ). So he's in a world of poo poo, and he stumbles upon a bag full of guns. Hurray, lets kill some mexicans. I hate the fact that Schumacher is on the same racist crusade as his character. Oh but he hates how fast food looks like poo poo, so it's more than just that. Obviously shooting an automatic weapon in a burger joint is the solution. And now the 'anti-hero' is misunderstood by bystanders just because he holds a Uzi to their face. Surely that can't be great social commentary. I'm still dubious about Robert Duvall's part. He is underused, but somehow his role is so loaded with clichés (hey, it's a cop on his last day before retirement! And his latina partner gets shot at the end of the movie, too!) that any break we had from Douglas' "fall" was even less enjoyable than the previous scene, so it's probably for the best. I couldnt suffer the scenes with his wife just so Duvall could yell at her a moment before the climax. A strong thesis on anger management. I'll say that the movie can be vaguely fun, but it makes me feel dirty and stupid watching it as such. I would have voted the movie a 2 if it wasnt for that cheap and useless filler with Duvall. Pros: Michael Douglas as a computer guy strapped in a military outfit with a shotgun resting on his shoulder. It's fun, sometimes. Cons: Gimmicky. Cliché. Predictable. Racist undertones. It's Schumacher doing what he does best, forgetable movies that sell to studios easily because they can be shot in under 30 days and have a great tagline/teaser trailer. I don't much like Schumacher. Voting 1.
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May 2, 2005 02:15
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A horrible gimmick made even more horrible by Shumaker's 5th grade dialogue.
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May 2, 2005 05:15
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quote:Lowtax came out of the closet to say: This pretty much sums it up for me. I didn't like the "last day before retirement" cliche, but other than that I think this movie was very well done. I always said this movie would make a good video game (not a great one) because of the way he collects better and better weapons and gear as he goes along. 4.5
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May 2, 2005 20:35
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