Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- intense
- menacing
- stylish
- action movie night
- 1990s crime marathon
What critics said
Critics found the film stylish and suspenseful but excessively violent, tonally ridiculous, and uneven in execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Earl Talbott Blake targets Nick Styles by undermining his career and reputation after escaping prison.
The film’s revenge set pieces, violent confrontations, and deliberately extreme antagonist give the story an exploitation-picture intensity.
Blake’s revenge extends from prison escape into attacks on Styles’s career, public credibility, and personal life.
The story moves through Los Angeles police, prosecutorial, criminal, and family spaces during an escalating vendetta.
Films like Ricochet, and why
Cape Fear
shared neo-noir crime thriller framework, revenge-driven antagonist, and escalating psychological intimidation
Falling Down
shared corrupting revenge plot, crime thriller tension, and morally pressured law-enforcement protagonist
The Last Boy Scout
shared 1990s urban action style, police-centered crime narrative, and intense personal vendetta
The Usual Suspects
shared stylish neo-noir atmosphere, criminal manipulation, and career-threatening conspiracy
Movie Details
- Director
- Russell Mulcahy
- Release Date
- 1991-10-04
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (387)
Cast
- Denzel Washington
- John Lithgow
- Ice-T
- Kevin Pollak
- Lindsay Wagner
- Mary Ellen Trainor
- Josh Evans
- Victoria Dillard
- John Amos
- John Cothran
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Cinemax Amazon Channel, Cinemax Apple TV channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Ricochet about?
- A rising Los Angeles prosecutor becomes the target of a spectacularly vindictive criminal whose prison escape turns an old police encounter into a campaign of personal annihilation.
- What is Ricochet like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Ricochet as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Ricochet violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Ricochet as graphic.
- What did critics think of Ricochet?
- Critics found the film stylish and suspenseful but excessively violent, tonally ridiculous, and uneven in execution.
- Which films are like Ricochet?
- Films with a similar feel include Cape Fear, Falling Down, The Last Boy Scout, and The Usual Suspects.
- How long is Ricochet?
- Ricochet runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch Ricochet?
- In United States, Ricochet streams on Cinemax Amazon Channel, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
