69
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe fun of watching The Towering Inferno is in figuring out which old star Allen is going to indiscriminately kill off, as well as watching ultramodern décor go up in flames while a bunch of stubborn egotists refuse to listen to reasonable men.
- 80EmpireEmpireMuch more than a way to pass a rainy bank holiday afternoon, this is rocking good superleague disaster adventure.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertBy far the best of the mid-1970s wave of disaster films.
- 75Slant MagazineSlant MagazineIn nearly every reasonable sense it’s the far more accomplished of the two famed Allen disaster epics.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineEverything a disaster movie should be, a combination of soap opera and the spectacle of destruction.
- 75Rolling StoneDavid FearRolling StoneDavid FearThe story is stock, but thanks to the behind-the-scene fire wranglers, you can practically feel the heat.
- 70The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyMovies like The Towering Inferno appear to have been less directed than physically constructed. This one is overwrought and silly in its personal drama, but the visual spectacle is first rate. You may not come out of the theater with any important ideas about American architecture or enterprise, but you will have had a vivid, completely safe nightmare.
- 70Time OutTime OutThis is the disaster film which set the style for the genre in the decade to come.
- 50The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsAs the bland, star-laden drama gets swallowed by fiery special-effects setpieces, it feels like one type of big-budget mediocrity giving way to the next.