41
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Time OutTime OutThe plot is minimal, but the film scores partly because of a high sense of fun, and partly because of the way Landis uses his LA locations.
- 60NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenThe peculiar thing about Into the Night is that while it fails to deliver the conventional goods, it succeeds as an unclassifiable mood piece, a quirky voyage into seedy all-night Los Angeles. There are nice cameos from Bruce McGill as Pfeiffer's surly brother, and from David Bowie as a deadly hit man. It's good to see Goldblum in a leading role, even though he is kept on a tight rein; Pfeiffer is alluring and touching, like a precious object made from base parts. For the first time in a Landis movie, real pain reaches the surface. Propelled by B. B. King's haunting blues, this oddball movie sneaks under the skin. [11 March 1985, p.70]
- 50The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyA little bit of Into the Night is funny, a lot of it is grotesque and all of it has the insidey manner of a movie made not for the rest of us but for moviemakers on the Bel Air circuit who watch each other's films in their own screening rooms.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineWhat chiefly keeps this film on target, though, is Goldblum's marvelously deadpan reaction to all the bloodshed around him. The tone, despite the frequent bloodletting, is light, and the film works better than the script would indicate.
- 50Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrIn the early scenes, Landis and Goldblum work hard to make the character's depression dramatically real, and this infusion of gravity in a generally weightless genre brings a new meaning to the standard action scenes. But the idea vanishes around the midway mark—at about the point when the sun comes up—and the balance of the film is thin and familiar.
- 50Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelThe belief here is that Landis simply has overstuffed what might have been a somewhat tender action picture with all manner of movie trivia and action scenes. After a while, the principal characters in the chase begin to move so fast that they become a blur and ultimately disappear.
- 40Washington PostPaul AttanasioWashington PostPaul AttanasioInto the Night is billed as a comedy-thriller, but the thrills are nothing but a generalized nastiness, the comedy an uneven collection of gags. Few of the jokes have anything to do with the characters (nor, for that matter, do the characters have anything to do with the characters); and few of the thrills have anything to do with the gags.
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA fitfully funny, aimless, unnecessary thriller.
- 20Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyDon't go to "Into the Night." It will numb your mind. It will bore your soul. And it will cost you $5. [8 March 1985, p.25]