Falling Down (1993) – No Safe Spaces Here

Preview

Alright, listen up, you knuckleheads. If you’re tired of movies where everyone is hugging it out and talking about their “feelings” while the world goes down the toilet, I finally found something for you. It’s called Falling Down, and let me tell you, it’s about time someone made a movie about a guy who just wants a simple breakfast without signing a contract. It stars Michael Douglas as a guy having the kind of bad day that makes my hemorrhoids flare up just watching it. He’s stuck in traffic, it’s hot, and everyone around him is an idiot. Sound familiar? It’s basically my life, but with more shotguns.

This flick isn’t for the sensitive snowflakes who need a “safe space” because the barista got their soy latte wrong. This is about a man who finally snaps because society is broken. It’s got Robert Duvall in it too, playing a cop who’s actually got a brain in his head, unlike the ones I see on the news these days. If you want to see what happens when a regular Joe stops being polite and starts getting real—and I don’t mean like those MTV reality shows—then grab your popcorn and sit down. And pull up your pants, for crying out loud.

Review by Ben Dover

Let me tell you something, I haven’t related to a character this much since… well, ever. Michael Douglas plays this guy, William Foster, but his license plate says “D-FENS,” so that’s what we call him. He’s an unemployed defense worker, which means he used to have a real job before we started outsourcing everything to countries I can’t pronounce. He’s trying to get across Los Angeles to see his daughter, but the city is full of morons. He runs into gang bangers, greedy store owners, and construction crews who stand around leaning on shovels while taxpayers like me foot the bill. And what does he do? He does what I dream about doing every time I’m in line at the DMV—he fights back.

The best scene, hands down, is when he goes into a burger joint—”Whammy Burger”—and tries to get breakfast. They tell him he’s three minutes late. Three minutes! You got some teenager behind the counter looking at the register like it’s a spaceship, telling him “rules are rules.” Douglas pulls a gun, and suddenly, the customer service improves! It’s beautiful. I’m not saying we should go around waving firearms, but would it kill you to serve a sausage McMuffin at 11:35? It’s hilarious because it’s true. Every time I try to order a simple coffee now, I need a translator for “Venti” and “Grande.” Just give me a small coffee, you hippie!

The movie isn’t just about smashing stuff, though. It’s got Robert Duvall playing a cop on his last day before retirement. He’s dealing with a wife who calls him every five minutes about the most inane garbage—reminds me of my third wife, Gladys, god rest her soul (even though she never let me rest). Duvall is the only one who figures out where Douglas is going because he actually uses his brain. The chemistry between the two stories works, even though they don’t meet until the end.

Now, here’s where I get cranky. The movie tries to get all “psychological” at the end. They try to make you think D-Fens is the bad guy. Excuse me? The man is clearing the streets of criminals and lowering the price of soda, and I’m supposed to boo him? Hollywood always has to ruin it by making the working man look crazy. They want you to think he’s the villain, but looking at the world today, I think he’s the only sane one left. The ending is a bit of a letdown because of that. I wanted him to get a medal, not a lecture.

Overall, it’s a solid flick. It’s gritty, it’s sweaty, and it’s angry. Just like me after I watch the evening news. It captures that feeling of being squeezed by a system that doesn’t care about you. If you’re a snowflake, stay home and watch cartoons. If you’re a grown-up who remembers when a dollar was worth a dollar, go watch Falling Down.

Cast

• Michael Douglas as William “D-Fens” Foster: He’s fantastic. He’s got that haircut that says “I do my taxes on time,” and a look in his eyes that says “I will end you.” He carries the whole movie.
• Robert Duvall as Detective Prendergast: A class act. He plays the tired cop perfectly. He’s too old for this nonsense, just like me.
• Barbara Hershey as Beth: The ex-wife. She spends most of the movie looking terrified. I frankly don’t see what the big deal was; the guy just wanted to see his kid.
• Rachel Ticotin as Detective Sandra: Duvall’s partner. She’s tough, I’ll give her that.
• Frederic Forrest as The Surplus Store Owner: This guy is a nutjob. Even D-Fens thinks he’s crazy. A warning to you kids: this is what happens when you spend too much time in your basement.

Special Effects and Music

There aren’t any of those fancy computer-generated superheroes flying around in spandex here, thank God. The “special effects” are real things blowing up and real cars crashing. The way movies used to be! When Douglas shoots a rocket launcher at a construction site, it looks like a real explosion, not a video game.

The music is by James Newton Howard. It’s moody and tense. It’s got this low thrumming sound that sounds like a headache coming on, which fits the movie perfectly. There isn’t some annoying pop song by a girl with blue hair over the credits, so that’s a win in my book.

Rating

I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. I’d give it 5, but the ending went soft on me.

Synopsis and Plot Breakdown

Synopsis:

William “D-Fens” Foster is an unemployed defense engineer who abandons his car in gridlocked LA traffic on the hottest day of the year. He decides to walk home to Venice Beach to attend his daughter’s birthday party, despite having a restraining order against him. As he walks, he encounters various urban annoyances—gang members, rude shopkeepers, Neo-Nazis, and bureaucratic road crews. Each encounter escalates in violence as Foster acquires more weapons and lashes out against the indignities of modern life. Meanwhile, Detective Prendergast, on his final day before retirement, tracks Foster’s path of destruction, piecing together that this “average Joe” is actually a ticking time bomb.

Plot Breakdown:

• The Traffic Jam: Foster snaps in the heat, leaves his car, and walks away. Prendergast is in the same traffic jam and helps move the abandoned car.
• The Korean Grocery: Foster tries to get change for a phone call. The owner demands he buy something. Foster thinks the prices are a rip-off and smashes up the store with a baseball bat, “rolling back prices.”
• The Gang Encounter: Two gang members try to mug Foster. He fights them off with the bat. Later, they try to do a drive-by shooting on him but crash their car. Foster picks up their bag of guns and shoots one of them in the leg.
• The Whammy Burger: Foster tries to order breakfast at 11:33 AM. They refuse. He pulls a gun and accidentally fires it, terrifying the staff into giving him his food, though he admits the burger looks like a “sorry, miserable, squashed thing.”
• The Surplus Store: Foster meets a Neo-Nazi store owner who hides him from the police but then assumes they are allies. When the owner goes on a racist rant, Foster kills him and takes a rocket launcher.
• The Road Crew: Foster blows up a construction site because the road isn’t actually broken, and they are just justifying their budget.
• The Golf Course: Foster crosses a golf course, gets hit by a ball, and scares an old golfer into a heart attack.
• The Climax: Foster reaches the pier where his ex-wife and daughter have fled. Prendergast confronts him. Foster realizes he has become the villain (“I’m the bad guy?”). He draws a water pistol, forcing Prendergast to shoot him, ensuring his daughter gets his life insurance money.

5 Famous Quotes

1. “I’m the bad guy? How did that happen? I did everything they told me to.”
2. “I’m rolling prices back to 1965! What do you think of that?”
3. “I am not economically viable!”
4. “Rick, have you ever heard the expression ‘the customer is always right’? Well, here I am. The customer.”
5. “I lost my job. Actually, I didn’t lose it. It lost me. I’m over-educated, under-skilled.”

5 Notes from the Movie

1. Filmed During Riots: They filmed this movie in Los Angeles during the 1992 Rodney King riots. They actually had to stop filming for a bit because the city was on fire. Talk about method acting!
2. License Plate: Foster’s license plate “D-FENS” stands for his job in the Defense industry, but it also sounds like “Defense,” which is what he thinks he’s doing. Clever, huh?
3. Iron Maiden: The heavy metal band Iron Maiden has a song called “Man on the Edge” that is based entirely on this movie. I don’t listen to that noise, but my nephew tells me it’s a “banger.”
4. Not the Studio’s First Choice: The script was turned down by every major studio because they thought it was too controversial. Warner Bros finally picked it up. Shows what those suits know.
5. Duvall’s Role: Robert Duvall’s character was originally supposed to die at the end, but they changed it so he could retire and live. Good. The man earned his pension.

Photos

Trailer

Cool cut up with Iron Maiden “Man on the Edge” and Falling Down

Reviewer Notes

Creepy opening with the staring kid

OK this traffic scene makes ME want to go postal

This feels so much older to me than 1992 Mandela effect everywhere I would have sworn we were technologically ahead of this, but I guess not.

Michael Douglas is amazing in this he just basically is playing MAGA before MAGA. Fed up, a little rascist but doesn’t like to think he is etc.

Another kid staring him down… just weird like a lot of silent witnesses to his madness.

I have to admit I did not remember this movie right, I have always felt like D-fens was the hero, he is absolutely the bringer of Chaos in every instance. This is a horror/Thriller with Douglas being a crazy MF. He is basically Art the Clown just sewing chaos everywhere.

This random London Bridge / Havasu story feels like product placement.

The Nazi says they are not the same, but they really are the same.

He is terrifyingly insane, his talking to Beth on the phone is terrifying.

Now your going to die wearing that stupid hat. Funny

They lie to everybody…

Suicide by cop on his last day, thats messed up.

Nice job showing how fast a life can descend into madness with the videos at the end.