Does everyone in "Falling Down" have to be a dick? Of course not, but that's the movie, apparently. Michael Douglas has had enough of society's decay and proceeds to paint the town to his liking. With guns. There might actually be something to this social drama if everyone he meets wasn't a stereotype: the convenience story guy, the gangbangers, the fast food workers, the construction guy, the entitled golfers . . . they're all irrationally rude and out to ruin his day. This thing's got all the subtlety of a jackhammer.
It also doesn't help that Douglas meets every obstacle with screams and violence. He doesn't do this because of the heat and the stress. He does so because he's been unstable for years. There isn't much commentary to be made if nearly every character in your movie is so poorly drawn, especially if your "average Joe" hero is a sociopathic bully. Robert Duvall has more to work with here, but he takes a backseat to Douglas' obtuse rage. And at the end of the day, after all of the tirades and spent shells, Douglas even has the nerve to ask, "I'm the bad guy? How did that happen?"
This is beyond cheap.
3/10
It also doesn't help that Douglas meets every obstacle with screams and violence. He doesn't do this because of the heat and the stress. He does so because he's been unstable for years. There isn't much commentary to be made if nearly every character in your movie is so poorly drawn, especially if your "average Joe" hero is a sociopathic bully. Robert Duvall has more to work with here, but he takes a backseat to Douglas' obtuse rage. And at the end of the day, after all of the tirades and spent shells, Douglas even has the nerve to ask, "I'm the bad guy? How did that happen?"
This is beyond cheap.
3/10