Dying of the Light
Lionsgate Home Entertainment | Release Date: December 5, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergDec 4, 2014
The notion of an undercover agent with an untrustworthy mind is a great gimmick — and on a commercial level, Dying of the Light sometimes plays as just another high-concept vehicle for a comically overacting Mr. Cage. But Mr. Schrader’s vision is strong enough to rage against the hackier calculations. Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnDec 1, 2014
While its bleak assessment of American intelligence operatives imbues the story with some modicum of topicality, the specifics never keep pace. The movie becomes a bland action-drama lacking the sophistication to deal with its weightier themes. As a promising endeavor hacked to pieces, the movie's fate mirrors its anti-hero's own failed ambition. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzDec 5, 2014
If only Dying of the Light had broken Schrader's recent close-but-no-cigar streak. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyDec 4, 2014
Not to say that the movie is a mess. Instead, it plays out as a more or less conventional direct-to-video-style thriller, distinguished by a handful of subtexts and images that might have been developed in a different version, but here register as mere quirks. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangDec 6, 2014
The only real tension you feel in Dying of the Light is that between the thoughtful, tough-minded character piece Schrader presumably thought he was making and the bruised, indifferent hackwork that has ultimately made it to the screen. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleDec 4, 2014
Cage's loop-di-loop performance, the movie's surviving asset, at least hints at the themes of institutional illness and mortal decline that must have fascinated Schrader. Read full review
40
The DissolveDavid EhrlichDec 4, 2014
A legendary director’s unsullied cut of Dying Of The Light would almost certainly be more interesting than the version the studio is dumping into theaters, but it might have been a lot sadder, too. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe DziemianowiczDec 3, 2014
The irony is that in the low-key but mildly absorbing “Light,” Cage comes close to making it work. Read full review
40
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekDec 2, 2014
It's sort of a fascinating mess, a jagged, dark jumble of a thing anchored by Cage's anguished, moony-eyed obsessiveness. It's not bad enough to be fun, but maybe just bad enough to be intriguing. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle SmithDec 3, 2014
The writer-director of Dying of the Light is Paul Schrader, screenwriter of “Raging Bull.” The star is Nicolas Cage — Raging Tool. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 30, 2014
Paul Schrader's personality reveals itself in the film's joylessness, which is meaningless without the director's accompanying and occasionally poignant existentialism. Read full review
0
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthDec 1, 2014
The Dying Of The Light is forgettable, anonymous and at times almost amateur, and the product of a director searching for a new method of storytelling. Read full review
More From This Movie

31 Critic Reviews

3.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL