Rolling Stone
"...A visionary triumph....The dazzling, era-defining STRANGE DAYS stands its moral ground..." 10/19/1995 p.156-7Sight and Sound
"...Breathtaking....Racing visuals thunderously reinforced by sonic closure..." 01/01/1996 p.53-4 USA Today
"...[Fiennes is] fun to watch here..." 10/06/1995 p.4D Entertainment Weekly
"...STRANGE DAYS has a dazzling atmostphere of grunge futurism..." 10/20/1995 p.49 Variety
"...A technical tour de force for director Kathryn Bigelow and her team, who dazzlingly root this future noir in a technology that allows a viewer to revisit someone else's experience....The film is a triumph..." 09/04/1995 Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is a technical tour de force....The pacing is relentless, and the editing, by Howard Smith, creates an urgency and desperation..." 10/13/1995 p.35 Uncut
"[A] visceral, violent distillation of America on the cusp of the 21st century..." 08/01/2001 p.138 Tucson Weekly 0 of 10
There are movies and there are movies. Some movies throw you a small chunk of ideas and hope you'll swallow, other movies offer up a huge smorgasbord and let you take what you will. Into this category falls Strange Days, the kind of film that comes at you from so many angles that even when a few of the angles don't work, there's still a good chance you'll walk out of the theater satisfied... Strange Days remains a movie movie, and there's still a good deal of substance underneath the flash. The film's real meat is an emotional story about the desperation of Lenny's unrequited love for Faith. As a friend of mine said, he's "the nicest sleaze of the year," a slimy salesman with a heart of gold. His relationship with the principled, strong-willed Mace carries the picture (shakily, but triumphantly) despite its overlong chases through crowds and ridiculous Die Hard-esque series of climaxes. One note: Even though the story amounts to far less than its buildup suggests, the script remains enjoyably clever and rife with double meanings. Written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, at times the script is almost too clever: It's not enough to have one character betray another; he has to literally stab him in the back. In response, the stabbed character has to "cut his tie" in both senses of the phrase. Strange Days really must be a movie movie, because not many action movies can go to this level of playfulness and get away with it. - Zachary Woodruff
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