Blast from the Past 1999

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: That's a relatively clever set-up for what's become a familiar genre: the time-displacement comedy, in which we get a kick out of viewing our era through another era's eyes. But this movie's eyes, Adam's, are awfully twinkly and not too focused. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: In Fraser's hands, Adam's bottomless, puppy-like demeanor is a pleasure to experience. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Blast From the Past has a sweet, joyful spirit and some fun performances. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Garish and not funny enough, Wilson's shapeless satire plods on, squandering its nice premise and its appealing actors. Miraculously, Fraser has a force field around him and manages to radiate energy in this comic black hole. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Fraser is the sweet, goofy engine that drives this movie. The script doesn't do enough with his reactions to a world that bears little relation to the Cold War planet Adam has been told about, but Fraser still manages to suggest volumes. Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Read more

Jonathan Foreman, New York Post: Thanks to a clever script, tight direction, a first-rate cast and the dynamite combination of Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone, Blast from the Past blows away the recent crop of romantic comedies. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Unfortunately Mr. Fraser comes off as a forlorn, outsize Pee Wee Herman. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: There's something a little bit creepy and Dole-like about the notion that 35 years ago, everything was good and pure and right (except for that whole Cold War mess), while today, everything has become debased and confusing. Read more

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader: A stretched-out anecdote. Read more

Pamela Mitchell, Houston Chronicle: Blast From the Past is a cute little movie until it comes out of its bomb shelter, and then it turns distressingly stale right before our eyes. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: Blast from the Past is a sweet-natured comedy that is worth seeing. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: What's good in Blast From the Past is so inventive and what's bad is so blinkered that the best way to describe this fascinating, failed romantic comedy may be as a movie blown to hell. Read more

Robert Dominguez, New York Daily News: Despite its original concept, the movie loses much of its socially satiric edge once Fraser emerges from his underground bunker and starts wooing Silverstone. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: While this comedy strives for teen-age appeal above ground, it's mostly the fallout shelter notion that makes for the laughs. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: While it's possible to see Blast from the Past as a fairly traditional romantic comedy with a somewhat unique backstory, the film is really more than that. It's a slick, clever satire of American culture. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie is funny and entertaining in all the usual ways, yes, but I was grateful that it tried for more: that it was actually about something, that it had an original premise, that it used satire and irony and had sly undercurrents. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Blast From the Past doesn't overtax Fraser's abilities -- the film is only a sweet comic confection -- but director and co-writer Hugh Wilson does rely on a rare quality that Fraser has in spades: charm. Read more

Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle: This is a movie of delayed payoffs. Spacek gets better as she gets wiggier after decades in the bunker. Read more

Time Out: The broad obvious jokes are generally tossed away with a panache that might be mistaken for subtlety; the performances are affable; and there's even the odd surprise along the way. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Director/co-scenarist Hugh Wilson does acceptable work here, yet the concept's myriad possibilities for satirical and fairy-tale riffing go untapped. Read more

Gary Dauphin, Village Voice: About the time Adam and Eve get down to re-creating their own personal Eden, Blast loses its way, settling for the standard coupling two-step. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Blast From the Past saves its best for first. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: The 40-minute setup is deliciously nutty, with eccentric turns from Walken and Spacek. But the longer Adam remains above ground, the more plodding and predictable the scenario becomes. Read more