Tequila Sunrise Poster
62
metacriticBased on 14 Critics
83
Based on 59 Users

Release Date: 1988

DVD Release Date: October 29th, 1997

R|1 hr 54 min

Plot Summary
In a seaside California town, best friends Mac (Mel Gibson) and Nick (Kurt Russell) are on opposite sides of the law. Mac is a former drug dealer trying to clean up his act, while Nick is a high-profile detective trying to take down a Mexican drug lord named Carlos (Raul Julia). Soon Nick's loyalties are put to the test when he begins an affair with restaurateur Jo Ann (Michelle Pfeiffer) -- a love interest of Mac's -- unwittingly leading his friend into a police-orchestrated trap.

Cast: Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh, Arliss Howard, Ann Magnuson, Arye Gross

Director: Robert Towne

Genres: Crime drama

Production Co: Warner Bros., Cinema City Film Productions

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Ratings & Reviews

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  • 88
    Jay CarrBoston Globe

    What sets Tequila Sunrise apart is its layering, its existential dimension. The characters played by Gibson and Russell have been sanded down by a kind of fatalism we normally associate with characters in French gangster movies. There's more than one facet to them. They're entertaining. And urgent. Even when they're just going through routine genre moves, they put laid-back spin on them. [2 Dec 1988, p.29]

  • 100
    Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)

    Kurt Russell has never seemed more clever, Mel Gibson more vulnerable nor Michelle Pfeiffer more goddess-like. Once upon a time, before the pictures got small and the hills were obscured by smog, the Hollywood sign read: "Hollywoodland." That was back when Tequila Sunrise, an intelligent, escapist epic for adults, wouldn't have seemed the anomaly it seems today. [2 Dec 1988, p.C1]

  • 75
    Dave KehrChicago Tribune

    As a screenplay Tequila Sunrise is a very impressive piece of work. But as a movie, it's knotty and confused. [2 Dec 1988, p.B]

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