The Fan (1996)

40% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(38,409 ratings)

Robert De Niro is Gil Renard, baseball fan from hell. Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes) is the player he is nuts about. No sooner does the talented Rayburn sign a huge contract with the San Francisco Giants, than everything in his life goes horribly wrong. Not only does his field play deteriorate along… More Robert De Niro is Gil Renard, baseball fan from hell. Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes) is the player he is nuts about. No sooner does the talented Rayburn sign a huge contract with the San Francisco Giants, than everything in his life goes horribly wrong. Not only does his field play deteriorate along with his batting average, but someone murders his chief team rival. It's not revealing too much to say that Gil killed him, in the mistaken belief that he was doing Bobby a favor. When superfan Gil insinuates himself into Bobby's everyday life, the situation grows much worse, because this fixated nut-case has some very strange ideas about family solidarity. Amusing highlights come from John Leguizamo as a ballplayer's agent, and Ellen Barkin as a radio sports announcer. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Tony Scott
Written By: Phoef Sutton
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Dec 9, 1997
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

, USA Today
An awful but watchable baseball movie until it degenerates into an all-out howler.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
A film with lots of great ideas yet none of them come to fruition.
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
This slick, extremely gripping thriller is three-quarters an excellent movie that only falls apart during a tense but ultimately ridiculous finale.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Strike three, you're out. A stinker that should have been postponed because of inept filmmaking.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
More ugly and depressing than haunting or suspenseful.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
A Home run for the thriller genre.. De Niro, in top form
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Mesmerizing film about the soul-killing dimensions of perfectionism.

Read all 7 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Tsubaki S

Cliche, by-the-numbers, etc etc.
Anthony L

A fan, I am not.
Lady D

De Niro is an obsessed Baseball fan, whose love for the game, sees him doing unbelivable things to meet his sporting hero. This doesn't seem to be one of De Niro's more popular films and admittedly it's not at the top of De Niro films, but I think it was a pretty… More
De Niro is an obsessed Baseball fan, whose love for the game, sees him doing unbelivable things to meet his sporting hero. This doesn't seem to be one of De Niro's more popular films and admittedly it's not at the top of De Niro films, but I think it was a pretty good performance, we see him go from your ordinary guy to psyhcopath in a short escalating time. The film does have slightly drawn out moments but is a passible Thriller.
Dean M

This second movie title is so suspense and thriller of an older fan (Robert DeNiro) stalking a favourite baseball player (Wesley Snipes).
Dean !

Not the best film De Niro or Snipes have done ,but this is a watchable thriller about an obessed baseball fan.
Jason S

Talk about giving you the creeps. I thought this was pretty good and lived up to it's premise.
danny d

creepy
Aaron N

A descent thriller that gets in some good moments of "what's gonna happen." De Niro plays crazy well and Snipes dials down his action persona enough to play a human character. Supporting cast that includes Del Toro, are also good in their parts. The standard aspects are… More
A descent thriller that gets in some good moments of "what's gonna happen." De Niro plays crazy well and Snipes dials down his action persona enough to play a human character. Supporting cast that includes Del Toro, are also good in their parts. The standard aspects are made better by the stylish flare that Scott brings to the table.
Michael G

Disappointing.
Curt C

This is completely standard fare, but you can get away with standard fare when you have Robert DeNiro as the psycho.
Marcus W

This is De Niro's film as everyone loves to watch him go crazy - and he is damn good at it. Sadly, he's let down by a film that rushes his character's development and ends in a BIG RAIN SOAKED FINALE IN THE STADIUM! Tony Scott overdirects his heart out, where someone… More
This is De Niro's film as everyone loves to watch him go crazy - and he is damn good at it. Sadly, he's let down by a film that rushes his character's development and ends in a BIG RAIN SOAKED FINALE IN THE STADIUM! Tony Scott overdirects his heart out, where someone like Schumacher would have given it the subtlety it needs. De Niro fans may enjoy it, but for everyone else, watch Falling Down instead.
Lee K

sucked ass