The Fall
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: May 9, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A movie that you might want to see for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It's the most glorious, wonderful mess put onscreen since Terry Gilliam's "Brazil." Read full review
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
A deliciously vivid adventure fantasy. Read full review
88
PremiereGlenn Kenny
The Fall is a movie whose every frame pulsates with the desire to be a transportive, transcendent work of cinema. And each one of said frames is full of visual bedazzlement and wonder. So full that one is loathe to sum up with the phrase "Close, but no cigar." But there is something, finally, kind of pushy about the film's desire to be a masterpiece. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Dazzling and delirious, The Fall is a celebration of cinema, of old-fashioned storytelling and globe-hopping spectacle. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The Fall is often an affectionate caricature itself, but one of astonishing beauty, featuring two heartfelt performances from Untaru and the tender, often mordantly funny Pace. They're perfect foils for Tarsem's gorgeous tone poem to cinema as a medium of magic and miracles, stories and lies. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The Fall lives and dies on the strength of Pace and Untaru's remarkable performances. It's there that the pulsing heart of this magical-real film beats most true. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Although the film revolves around a child, it's not a children's movie: A cruel and bitter undertone runs through the fanciful adventures, and Walker's depression is no mere plot contrivance to be cured by Alexandria's childish enthusiasm. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The Fall is aptly named not only because it pertains to a tragic descent but because viewers will feel as if they have plunged headlong into an alternate universe with this dazzling adult fairy tale. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
It's an achingly beautiful movie and a triumph of location scouting, with more cosmopolitan spectacle than the past three Indiana Jones and James Bond movies combined. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderBill Stamets
Director Tarsem (The Cell) reworks the 1981 Bulgarian film "Yo Ho Ho" for this stylish fantasy. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Some of the set pieces are ravishing, more often they're ravishingly clunky. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The Fall is what you'd get if you told a fiendishly gifted graphic illustrator the plot of "The Princess Bride" and sent him off to come up with his own version. Read full review
60
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
If the human details are often problematic, the IMAX-grade bombast, ceremonial camera, and Jodorowsky-esque eclecticism still combine for a singular spectacle. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
There's no doubt that Tarsem's a visionary director. Now he needs to envision a worthwhile script for himself. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
Tarsem and his screenwriting collaborators aren't able to come up with enough interesting justifications for their sudden shifts, and soon the shape-shifting yarn just feels like lazy storytelling. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
This convoluted, arbitrary, overlong whimsy will strike most grown-ups as childish, and is far too violent and pretentious for kids. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's basically a Middle Eastern version of "The Princess Bride" with an assisted-suicide subplot. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
It has a rich premise and no lack of amazements. What it lacks in any sort of dramatic shape. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
It's the kind of movie for which the phrase ''you've never seen anything like it before'' was invented. The question is whether anyone would want to. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Pretty pictures - thats what The Fall has to offer. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNathan Lee
A genuine labor of love -- and a real bore. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
There is never a sense that The Fall exists for any reason besides simply being something nice to look at. Yet no matter how good-looking a film may be, if it's as sleep-inducing as this, there's simply no point. Read full review
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