D.O.A. (1988)
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61% of critics liked it
(18 reviews) -
34% of users liked it
(7,000 ratings)
"They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to… More "They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to exist. Remade from the 1949 Rudolph Mate thriller by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, the co-directors jazz up the old luridness with slap-up doggishness that boosts the intensity-level higher than it deserves to go. Cornell is a burned-out novelist trying to hold on to tenure at the university while seeing his marriage collapse around him. As if that weren't enough, he is receiving amorous come-ons from smart, young student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and being badgered by another student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), to read his brilliant first novel. Not long after Dex demurs to Nick to read his novel, Nick is killed in a fall. Only then does Dex find out that Nick has been having an affair with his wife. Things keep going from bad to worse when, after an all-night drinking binge, Dex discovers that he has been slipped a poison that will kill him within 24 hours. Teaming up with the adoring Sydney, Dex tries to track down the person who poisoned him while dodging the cops, since he happens to be a prime murder suspect. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Mar 18, 1988 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Cannot even stand in the shadow of the 1950 original, but stylish and entertaining all the same.
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
The derivative and often silly screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue doesn't give the actors much to do except wish they never signed on to this sinking ship.
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Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com
Meg best stuff is behind her.
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Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
The "film noir on campus" idea works surprisingly well
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Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
It's not on the same level as the original, but it still manages a few enjoyable twists.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dennis Quaid
as Dexter Cornell
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Meg Ryan
as Syndey Fuller
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Charlotte Rampling
as Mrs. Fitzwaring
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Daniel Stern
as Hal Petersham
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Jane Kaczmarek
as Gail Cornell
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Christopher Neame
as Bernard
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Robin Johnson
as Cookie Fitzwaring
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Robert Knepper
as Nicholas Lang
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Jay Patterson
as Graham Corey
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Brion James
as Detective Ulmer
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Jack Kehoe
as Detective Brockton
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Elizabeth Arlen
as Elaine Wells
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Karen Radcliffe
as Jane Corey
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William Forward
as Chief Resident
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Lee Gideon
as Mr. Fitzwaring
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Bill Bolender
as Nick Lang Sr.
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Hillary Hoffman
as Corey's Daughter
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John Hawkes
as Sloane
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Michael Costello
as College President
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Gabriel Folse
as Frat Jock #1
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Marco Perella
as Cab Driver
- Timbuk 3
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Brent Anderson
as Metcalf
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Matthew Thompson
as Frat Jock #2
