Review of Cruising (1980) by Jenna I — 12 Jun 2016

Honestly the biggest problem with Cruising is just that it's all around mediocre. There's no character development, the acting is mostly bad (with Pacino as the saving grace), the dialogue is bad, the camerawork starts strong then gets lazy quickly, and the story strongly relies on the voyeuristic idea that you want to know what gay men do in basements.

I can see why there was an uproar from gay communities over this film. Certainly there is a darker shadow thrown on these clubs than is necessary, and it also cheerily walks all of its victims to the slaughter without giving them a chance to even react or try and save themselves- almost as if they knew it was just a matter of time and they welcome death anyhow.

In the end, at least in 2016, the movie just comes across as bland and pointless.