'1992' Reviews: "By grounding the film in a real event fraught with a great deal of racial tension, "1992" comes loaded with expectation, which the film largely meets thanks to the efforts of its dynamic cast"

         On August 30, 2024, Lionsgate released '1992', which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics, currently holding at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A'mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide in this tense crime-thriller." But what did the critics say?

       Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness notes, "By grounding the film in a real event fraught with a great deal of racial tension, "1992" comes loaded with expectation, which the film largely meets thanks to the efforts of its dynamic cast." Adding, "Gibson’s been working for decades now and his on-screen reputation is one of a fast-talking funny man, a notion cemented from his work as Roman Pearce in the Fast Saga, of which he’s played a significant part in recent years. He’s always had the potential for dramatic work, a personal favorite being his role as Angel Mercer in 2005’s Four Brothers (though that role did include a bit of comedic work, too). Here, however, Mercer is stoic, thoughtful, and aware that the hand he’s been dealt is unfair, but also of his own making. It’s not important for the audience to know precisely what he’s done to earn prison time, whereas it matters how he reacts to the way others on the street speak of him versus how the man who hired him at the factory, Joseph Francis (Michael Beasley) does. In the first, Gibson gives Mercer a quiet defiance, a recognition that who he was, who the streets believe him to be, is not who he wants to be any longer, for both himself and his son. In the second, Gibson allows Mercer to relax, to chat, to exist as a person in the world who embraces his responsibilities and opportunities. Through these responses, Gibson gives Mercer shape that makes all the things that come later, all the actions that Mercer takes to keep his son and himself safe, a true sacrifice."

Photo by Marius GIRE on Unsplash

 Andrew Parker of The Gate writes, "The more I think about the whole, the more I realize that the good bits are of greater value than the lesser ones, and at least the bits that don’t work retain a bit of panache and craft." Concluding, "The heist movie thread flounders for a number of reasons. The characters are all stock tough guys, some of whom will turn out to be more sympathetic than others, and it’s not hard to guess which ones. The dialogue is tin-eared, expositional and reductive in the extreme, forcing the characters to explain mundane details that Vroman can’t find a way to show in the fabric of the film. The viewer already understands that these two separate stories are going to collide, so they won’t be surprised by all of the things that go wrong during the heist or where all of Vroman and co-writer Sascha Penn’s unsubtle foreshadowing is going to lead. And to top all of that off, Eastwood, who carries these sections of the film, isn’t up to the task at hand, turning in a wooden, hollow performance. Liotta is a good enough performer to make something out of what very little he has been given here. Eastwood, however, has all of his limitations as a performer exposed and is hung out to dry."

       Edward Douglas of The Weekend Warrior says, "1992 uses its setting well, but make no mistake that this is more of a heist action movie than having anything to do with Rodney King or the court verdict that led to the L.A. Riots." Continuing, "This mostly relies on Gibson and Liotta to carry it, as I’ve never really thought much of the Eastwood spawn as an actor, even though he seems to get cast a lot."

       Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth states, "The premise itself is too clever an idea to dismiss the film entirely for its shortcomings, offset mainly by outstanding turns from Tyrese Gibson and Ray Liotta."