Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III
Metascore
77 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
view
per page
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Hannah Brown
    100
    Those with the stomach to sit through Decline will be rewarded with a lively, masterful documentary.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    88
    Overwhelmingly powerful.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Unlike the first two Decline films, this one is only tangentially concerned with music.
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    With her unblinking but nonjudgmental eye, Spheeris doesn't shy away from the horrifying, at times violent messes these kids make of their lives, but she is always sensitive to the pain behind everything, to the unhappy futility of squandered potential.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    80
    Best and most touching when it shows how willing punk is to eat its young.
  6. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    80
    Spheeris, who includes her offscreen questions, evidently sympathizes with her subjects, though this doesn't stop her from pointing out their hypocrisy.
  7. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jessica Winter
    70
    Spheeris gives every indication of having gotten too close to her material, but her film's overall air of discombobulation is poignant in itself.
  8. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Editor
    60
    Spheeris succeeds in creating a touching portrait, although the depressing nature of their dead-end, emotionally numb lives offers little hope for a cheerful resolution.
  9. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    There's lots of atmosphere and information to be gained, but stay away unless you can tolerate graphic plunges into the wildest kinds of youthful excess.
prev next
Page:
  • 1