90
Variety
Quigley Down Under is an exquisitely crafted, rousing western made in Oz.
Quigley Down Under
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Australia,
- United States
- 1990
- · 119m
Director
Simon Wincer
Cast
Tom Selleck,
Laura San Giacomo,
Alan Rickman,
Chris Haywood,
Ron Haddrick,
Tony Bonner
Genre
Western
American Matt Quigley answers Australian land baron Elliott Marston's ad for a sharpshooter to kill the dingoes on his property. But when Quigley finds out that Marston's real target is the Aboriginals, Quigley hits the road. Now, even American expatriate Crazy Cora can't keep Quigley safe in his cat-and-mouse game with the homicidal Marston.
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What are critics saying?
90
Variety by Staff (Not Credited)
Quigley Down Under is an exquisitely crafted, rousing western made in Oz.
75
St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Ellen Futterman
The sweeping scenery, made even more thrilling by Basil Poledouris' score, makes up for the slow moments. And Selleck and Rickman are equally convincing in their respective roles as the undisputed good guy and bad. [19 Oct 1990, p.3F]
70
Time Out
Aussie director Wincer handles the action convincingly, and Rickman's splendidly snide villain is a real treat.
70
Time Out by Staff (Not Credited)
Aussie director Wincer handles the action convincingly, and Rickman's splendidly snide villain is a real treat.
63
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Quigley Down Under is a handsome film, well-acted, and it's a shame the filmmakers didn't spend a little more energy on making it smarter and more original.
60
Empire
This film falls down in it's attempts to do everything at once, so that a potentially horrific scenario is often played out to comic effect. It doesn't quite work and the film manages to undermine itself.
60
Los Angeles Times by Peter Rainer
A film with an intriguing premise and likable performances but not much excitement. [13 Oct 1990, p.F13]
60
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
The director, Simon Wincer, makes Quigley Down Under an unapologetic homage to the formula western at its most pokey, complete with Wagon Train-style score. All things considered, this could be a lot worse.
60
Washington Post by Hal Hinson
What's missing in Quigley Down Under is precisely what is missing in its star. Selleck is a skilled light comedian -- he's at his best delivering a wry put-down to a British officer -- and he handles John Hill's bantering dialogue deftly. But for all his burly authority, Selleck lacks dynamism on screen. There's no danger in him, nothing unresolved or mysterious. He's likable, but something of a lug.
60
Empire by Mark Cooper
This film falls down in it's attempts to do everything at once, so that a potentially horrific scenario is often played out to comic effect. It doesn't quite work and the film manages to undermine itself.
38
The Seattle Times
There must be dozens of film buffs out there with an unsatisfied hankering for Cinemascope Westerns. It's too bad, then, that Quigley Down Under fits the label, but doesn't deliver the goods.
38
The Seattle Times by Michael Upchurch
There must be dozens of film buffs out there with an unsatisfied hankering for Cinemascope Westerns. It's too bad, then, that Quigley Down Under fits the label, but doesn't deliver the goods.
38
Miami Herald by Ryan Murphy
Deadly dull and as wooden as a hitching post, Quigley is set in the Australian outback where the mercury often tops 100 degrees, but there's no heat in this movie, no spark of ingenuity or life. [20 Oct 1990, p.E4]
25
TV Guide Magazine
Another failed attempt to make Tom Selleck a movie star, this is a handsomely mounted but vapid western that lumbers across the screen for two hours, providing little entertainment.
16
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Vapid, cutesy, knockabout Western.
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