57
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAlthough the movie centers on well-made action scenes and contains a couple of tidy surprises, its strength comes from the portrait of this soldier on the edge.
- 75The Associated PressBob ThomasThe Associated PressBob ThomasJohn Frankenheimer is an old hand at directing this kind of macho confrontation, and he masterfully builds the tension. The bone-chilling terrain (actually Canada) adds immeasurably to the film's effectiveness. [20 Mar 1990]
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumFrankenheimer handles it tersely and professionally, and coaxes an exceptionally good performance out of Harry Dean Stanton as an American general.
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinMr. Frankenheimer relies on standard touches at times, but he also fills The Fourth War with interesting little asides.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe Fourth War is an old-soldiers-never-die movie — an ironic elegy — and though much of the story is contrived and second-rate, Scheider gives a richly felt performance.
- 60TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAn effective, tightly constructed thriller that packs an emotional punch in the end, when even its politics are compelling.
- 50Time OutTime OutThe Fourth War may have been conceived as the thinking person's Rambo, but in the event it isn't a patch on First Blood; for a simple story, it's quite a mess, the very dubious voice-over hardly clarifying a clumsy sense of chronology.
- 50Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonThe premise is so surrealistically improbable that if Frankenheimer's approach weren't so straight-faced it might be preposterously entertaining. But the director's shoulders are braced for Atlas duty and he fails to exploit the loony potential in Stephen Peters and Kenneth Ross's script.
- 20EmpireAngie ErrigoEmpireAngie ErrigoBoring and Silly, Ronin is a better example of Frankenheimer's direction.