Falling Down (1993)

Joel Schumacher directed this movie.  Yes, the same man who brought us the ridiculous Batman & Robin.  Sorry, I had to make a joke about that travesty, but Joel is a pretty good director who has given the world classics like A Time To Kill and 8MM, as well as popcorn fun like Phone Booth and Town Creek and unfortunately, the previously mentioned disaster with the caped crusader.  Falling Down though is a fantastic movie.

Michael Douglas plays Bill, a down on his luck average Joe who loses the plot and goes on a rampage against a society he sees as unfit.  However, his main objective is to get to his daughters birthday party despite a restraining order.  On his trail is Detective Pendergast, played by Robert Duvall.  It's his last day before retirement and his main concern is getting home to his wife alive.

Bill is a strange character; he has no problem terrorising and assaulting, but he does have a problem with stealing.  For instance, the scene where the shop owner won't give him a discount on his Coca Cola because it would leave him without change to make a phone call.  In order to get his discount, he beats the store owner and trashes his shop, but he doesn't steal the drink.  Because that would be wrong.  Michael Douglas is excellent as the deranged man, and delivers a performance that ranges from psychotic to terrifying to cold to even amusing at times.

Detective Pendergast, on his day of retirement, is assigned to get this maniac off the streets.  He's planning on moving away someplace quiet with his wife and his main concern is surviving the day, all the while Bill is rampaging through the streets in order to get home to his family that want nothing to do with him.

This is a good movie that's worth a watch.