Though the mystery has been spoiled somewhat by an over-revealed twist ending, Soylent Green still succeeds thanks to director Richard Fleischer's sure command of one of the grimmest and most sadly plausible dystopias put to film.
Conjures up a terrifying vision of the future that is made all the more urgent by today's inflationary food prices and fast approaching energy crisis.
80
Time Out
Time Out
Good, solid stuff, assembled efficiently enough to be pretty persuasive.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A good, solid science-fiction movie, and a little more.
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris Nashawaty
Entertainment WeeklyChris Nashawaty
Richard Fleischer’s dystopian thriller set in an overpopulated, famine-stricken 2022 New York is a wonderfully silly slice of future schlock, featuring some of Heston’s zestiest overacting.
The overall tone is one of melancholy rather than sci-fi wonder, and the film's cynicism is hard to shake.
63
Slant MagazineNick Schager
Slant MagazineNick Schager
The film strikes a poignant chord with its chilling portrayal of a state-sponsored euthanasia program that utilizes movie-watching as a narcotic designed to help the sick and elderly die peacefully.