|
| Corsair Pictures | Release Date: March 23, 1990 |
Starring:
Barbara Baxley, Elizabeth McGovern, Haviland Morris, Jenny Wright, John McMartin, Michael Caine, Peter Riegert, Philip Moon, Swoosie Kurtz, Will Patton
Summary:
Watch Now
| Buy on |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
A Shock to the System is a beautiful, subtle satire of corporate America, providing a fresh slant on the visceral nastiness hovering beneath the glossy surface. The tension in the film is superb, swelling and receding with just the right degrees of intensity and the plot has enough unanticipated twists to provide thrills right until the end. [13 Oct 1990]
The character is manipulative, unsympathetic and quite depraved, but Caine plays him with such wicked glee that it's impossible to resist watching and vicariously enjoying his descent into corruption. [23 Mar 1990, p.26]
A Shock to the System has wit, a cool classy charm and a hero you root for even after he rigs his house's faulty wiring so his nagging wife unwittingly electrocutes herself while he's out of town on business. [23 Mar 1990, p.G5]
Michael Caine gives the most ferocious comic performance of his career, while Elizabeth McGovern is deliciously understated as the ''sorceror's apprentice'' who unwittingly helps him. [23 Mar 1990]
Let's face it: Caine could do a lambada movie and it'd be worth seeing. His work in the new suspense thriller A Shock to the System carries us past the movie's bad direction and muddled script. [24 Mar 1990, p.2D]
Apr 23, 2022
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
More From Metacritic
Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
