| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
C- |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Schumacher Ruins Another One....
by Brando (movies profile)
Oct 11, 2007
8
of
10 people found this review helpful
Joel Schumacher, the director best known for putting nipples on the Batsuit, and thus ruining a perfectly good franchise, is an expert at taking something good and turning it into trash. He is, in fact, the prime example of a moviemaker who could've been, but isn't ... in all aspects of the phrase.
"Falling Down" could've been an gripping drama with tons of social commentary tossed in. And for more than half of the film, Schumacher, with the help of an incredible performance by Michael Douglas, achieves this. Douglas's comments on the price of a can of soda reflect the frustration of the poor in rising inflation. His attack on the golf course, again, is a fist in the air for the needy in the United States. Not until Schumacher has Douglas shoot apart a telephone booth for the sake of shooting something to shreds does he lose the integrity of a good film. He is now out for bang and bucks, and from there, the whole movie goes somewhat downhill.
Yet not entirely. Michael Douglas still keeps this film afloat. His performance, as mentioned before, is one of the actor's greatest, and will be remembered alongside his reptilian turn in "Wall Street." Robert Duvall is great as the cop on the brink of retirement - a film cliche, but workable here - and when the pair finally meet, the sparks fly.
Yet in the meantime, Douglas's "comments" on society become more vague, or else they strike the viewer on the head with their obviousness. To mention the golf course scene again - Schumacher could've executed the comment beautifully without having Douglas burst into preachy prose. Subtlety is a skill Hollywood hasn't possessed since the birth of special effects. Everything is a hammer over the head. Moviemakers have no faith in their audience. They think we're stupid.
While "Falling Down" is a vastly entertaining film that has a great re-watch value, it still leaves you feeling dissatisfied in the end. You want something more. And that something is exactly what Schumacher, as long as he keeps making films, cannot give you. |
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