F.I.S.T.

United Artists | Release Date: April 28, 1978

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

54	METASCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Staff (Not Credited)

In its superb telling of how a humble but idealistic young man escalates to the corrupt heights of unbridled power, F.I.S.T. is to the labor movement in the United States what All the King's Men was to an era in American politics. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

Beautiful photography from Kovacs and an excellent acting job by Stallone. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Stallone's performance is a superb blend of stubborn-jawed gravity and ironic hamming as he heads, Godfather-like, for a confrontation with the Senate. Read full review

Vincent Canby

F.I.S.T. is a big movie that benefits more from the accumulation of small, ordinary detail than from any particular wit or inspiration of vision. It's also played with great conviction by its huge cast. Read full review

Noel Murray

F.I.S.T. is another in a long line of well-made films that excel in their particulars, even if they fall a little short as complete, complex pieces of cinema. Read full review

Andrew Sarris

I found myself reasonably absorbed in this grown-up though not sufficiently lived-in and thought-through entertainment. [01 May 1978, p.45]

Gary Arnold

F.I.S.T. may be given patronizing credit for reflecting some vague desire to do an important picture about the perils of corruption within the American political system. Unfortunately, it can't be given credit for realizing that desire with much skill or credibility. [26 Apr 1978, p.B1]

Ray Conlogue

Gripping to watch but ultimately misses the target. [29 Apr 1978]

Richard Schickel

The movie F.I.S.T. stands for nearly 2½ hours of almost unmitigated boredom—a misfired would-be proletarian epic with Sylvester Stallone misplaying the Jimmy Hoffa part with a self-confidence that borders on the sublime. Read full review

David Ansen

The wrong people made this movie, and its failure rankles. It's a handsomely designed, beautifully photographed production full of good actors who have been asked to play their roles in unfailingly hackneyed fashion. [01 May 1978, p.89]