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Critic Reviews powered by Metacritic ™
Variety
Visually, [the film] often is exhilarating, but it's shapeless and dragged down by corny, melodramatic characters and situations. Full Review
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Director Howard is so mesmerized by the flames, he squirts formulaic lighter fluid over everything. A conflagration of hyped-up movie cliches, courtesy of George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic special effects shop, scalds your face. Full Review
Elvis Mitchell
The New York Times
While Mr. Howard ably maintains a strong forward momentum, Backdraft often feels directionless beneath its overlay of frantic activity. One clear story line would have been worth more than a series of subplots and tangents. Full Review
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Fire, as this movie makes clear, is nothing if not photogenic, and Howard has done a beautiful job of conjuring both its danger and its deceptive, primal beauty. Full Review
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
A noisy, impenetrable and totally nonsensical cogitation on the nature of firefighters and the sizzling "animal" they love...We just wish somebody would call 911 for boredom. Full Review
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