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They Live
Metascore
50 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 4 out of 9
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    80
    Has its share of underthought or overwrought moments. The tone keeps shifting radically. It has some silly lines, plot lapses and goofball action scenes. But you can forgive the movie everything because of the sheer nasty pizazz of its central concept. [4 Nov 1988]
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  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    75
    The looniest movie of the season and also one of the most engaging. [7 Nov 1988]
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  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Non Credited)
    70
    Carpenter is trying for a satire of advertising and consumerism under late capitalism, and although the film is great fun at first--especially when depicting the world through Nada's glasses--it rarely rises above the intellectual level of a comic book.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    70
    A fantastically subversive film, a nifty little confection pitting us vs them, the haves vs the have-nots.
  5. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    60
    All in all, an entertaining (if ideologically incoherent) response to the valorization of greed in our midst, with lots of Rambo-esque violence thrown in, as well as an unusually protracted slugfest between ex-wrestler Roddy Piper and costar Keith David.
  6. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    38
    Live dies around the time Carpenter allows 10 minutes of gratuitous Piper-David eye-gouging, an apparent bone to wrestling fans. Forget the amusing premise; a full crate of magic glasses couldn't make this a bearable movie. [7 Nov 1988]
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  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    30
    Mr. Carpenter has directed the film with B-movie bluntness, but with none of the requisite snap. And his screenplay (written under the pseudonym Frank Armitage) makes the principals sound even more tongue-tied than they have to. [4 Nov 1988, p.C8]
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  8. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Stack
    0
    Typical of some of the absurd moments in this film is a long drawn-out fist fight between the hero and Frank, who almost kill each other because Frank is too proud to try on the magic dark glasses. It is completely stupid. [5 Nov 1988]
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  9. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Richard Harrington
    0
    The plot for They Live is full of black holes, the acting is wretched, the effects are second-rate. In fact, the whole thing is so preposterous it makes "V" look like "Masterpiece Theatre." [5 Nov 1988]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Dynamithix
    8
    Just saw this movie for the first time and damn was it good. I love the soundtrack and the build-up of it all, the main character's actor is also pretty good and now I see where Duke Nukem got some of his quotes, haha. Overall a good movie. Oh and don't believe the critics who gave negative reviews, they obey the authority.… Full Review »
  2. jcoles
    10
    The movie was well ahead of its time if one considers contemporary affairs (2011). The premise is both satirically hilarious and compelling on its own terms. The execution is admirable. This is a must see cult-classic.… Full Review »
  3. RyanH.
    10
    This movie rocks. there is absolutely no reason not to watch it! it is funny, intense, and generally all around bad-ass.
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