34
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasUtterly mindless, but on its own snap, bang, and wallop terms, it works well enough.
- 60Tampa Bay TimesTampa Bay TimesDeath Warrant holds more interest than many of its genre. [21 Sep 1990, p.7]
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAlthough Death Warrant resorts to several familiar plot devices, its storyline is a little more complex than those of most films of this genre. Moreover, secondary characters like Hawkins and Priest are believable and likable enough that we care what happens to them.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJean-Claude Van Damme is the best part of every movie he's in. Then again, when you consider the pictures he's been in, maybe that's not saying enough. [15 Sep 1990, p.C3]
- 38The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesDeath Warrant has two colors: dark red, dark blue. It has two moods: brooding and brutal. It makes prison look more attractive by adding fog machines and then filming everything in slow motion. [15 Sep 1990, p.C7]
- 30Washington PostRichard HarringtonWashington PostRichard HarringtonAll the characters mumble, perhaps out of sympathy for the Dutch Van Damme's ongoing struggle with their native language. As for plot, it unravels more quickly than the mystery facing Van Damme.
- 30The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyAll of the performances are terrible, but Joseph Porro's costume design is arresting. Mr. Van Damme and the other prisoner look as if they had been outfitted by an upscale outlet of a Banana Republic-type men's boutique.
- 25Miami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoMiami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoDirector Deran Sarafian and cinematographer Russell Carpenter give Death Warrant a great gloomy feel and know how how to use extreme close-ups as effective eye candy. But candy is about all we get. [18 Sep 1990, p.C3]
- 25USA TodayUSA TodayThe best thing about the nod-inducing Death Warrant is a muscleheaded psycho called the Sandman. That figures, since you're likely to take a nap or two waiting for hero Jean-Claude Van Damme to stop taking his lumps and start busting heads. [17 Sep 1990, p.2D]