Oliver Stone's indictment of the media told through the story of young lovers on the run, serial killers Mickey and Mallory Knox, Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. Based on an early script by Quentin Tartantino, Tarantino took his name off of the film and instead asked for only a "story" credit. He's been quoted as saying if you love the film, that was Oliver, if you hated the film, that was Oliver, essentially disavowing the film, which I didn't really see why he'd want to distance himself from it at the time, but rewatching the film now, it was a smart move on his part to distance himself from this mess. I was shocked by how poorly this film has aged. It may be a case of it having been imitated so many times since then, both in terms of style and content, that the film has lost it's original impact; much like rewatching the original version of "The Exorcist" (thought that film is still good, it's just not as scary). After my disappointment re-watching this film, I got out my copy of Quentin Tarantino's original script and pretty much all of the moments in this film that do work were straight out of Tarantino's original version; a cool opening credits sequence with crazy rear projections, Robert Downy Jr. as a sensationalistic Geraldo-like TV news reporter, some sharp dialogue from from Tom Sizemore as Seymore Skagnetti and Tommy Lee Jones as Warden Dwight McClusky. When the film drifts into Stone's seeming obsession with Native American mysticism, indulgent mix media visuals (Rob Zombie used this same style to much better effect in his films), and everyone trying to out overact the person next to them ruins what could have been a tough, nihilistic young lovers on the run "Badlands" homage. Where I will give Stone credit is the casting of Rodney Dangerfield as Lewis' dad, in a flashback sequence to Mallory Knox's abusive dysfunctional home life prior to running off with Mickey, presented as a nightmarish sitcom from hell, complete with a laugh track that punctuates societal indifference to domestic atrocities. That was not in Tarantino's script and Rodney is a positively demonic and terrifying version of his usual comic on-screen persona. I'll also give Stone credit for a dynamite soundtrack (or at least for hiring Trent Reznor to produce the soundtrack) which includes Leonard Cohen, L7, Patti Smith, Duane Eddy, NIN, Cowby Junkies, Jane's Addiction, Barry Adamson, Lard, and many more. Downey, Sizemore, and particularly Jones seem to strike the best tone of giving completely over-the-top performances, but doing so without winking at the camera, which I think Stone allowed Harrelson and Lewis to do too often throughout the film. Sure the on- screen media frenzy surrounding Mickey and Mallory and their cult of personality was fed, created, and sustained by the media is Stone's major point of the film, but it makes the characters too much to take. You can catch glimpses of a good film every now and then, buried beneath Stone's sound and fury, but in general this film is a preachy, heavy-handed mess. Do yourself a favor and read Tarantino's original script instead of watching Oliver Stone's indulgent mess.

To me filmmaking is all about this film. My main inspiration as a filmmaker and a student. The hard work the audacity, the casting, performance, music- everything is just near perfect. The realism, surrealism, the art, technique, courage is just immaculate. Forever will be my inspiration, because of its multi-format sequences.

Oliver Stone's most controversial film is a breakneck satire of the media's attitude towards violence. This notorious movie tells the story of a couple of mass murderers who end up getting caught in a media whirlwind as they're pursued by a shock journalist desperate for the 'number one' interview. Stone goes all out on style with this movie and it's one of the craziest you'll see: back stories are played out in the manner of '50s sitcoms, all manner of media is called into play (black and white film stock, back projection, hand camera) and the film itself is an over-the-top glorification of violence and insanity that just screams offence at just about everybody.It's actually a very good satire – one of the most biting I've ever watched – and also one of the darkest movies you'll see. That's after you get past the first hour, that is. Word up – I absolutely HATED the first hour of this film, which tells the story of a modern day 'Bonnie and Clyde' and their murderous antics. Stone's outrageous direction is matched by the outrageous performances he elicits from his stars, and it got very tiring after five minutes or so. There are plenty of better films in a similar vein and the previous year's KALIFORNIA, also starring Juliette Lewis in a very similar role, was much better.Then the killers are caught and the film becomes interesting AND original. Obnoxious TV journalist Robert Downey Jr., is introduced, sporting an annoying Australian accent and giving the craziest performance of his career; he damn near steals the movie from everybody else. Tom Sizemore's on hand to show that perverts don't just exist on the wrong side of the law, and then the whole film moves to a prison for the last third where it gets REALLY good. Stone depicts a prison riot as a trip to the very depths of Hell and his use of the hand-held camera during this bloody moment of mass insanity recalled to me the gut-wrenching depths of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. This final set-piece is bigger, starker, and darker than anything that's come before, and it's where I REALLY sat up and started taking notice.I don't really like 'message' films as such – and there's plenty for Stone to dwell on here. The cult of celebrity, the media's obsession with violence, true crime programmes, insanity, true love, crime and punishment, it's all covered here with plenty of intelligence. Woody Harrelson holds everything together with the bone-chilling performance of his career and while I've never liked Juliette Lewis, she's impossible to ignore here. Tommy Lee Jones goes way overboard as the agitated prison governor and Stone has a lot of fun with the violence, script and twisty-turny plot. Weird – a film I started off hating ended with me absolutely loving it. NATURAL BORN KILLERS is one heck of a roller-coaster ride.

Oliver Stone's sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying but always compelling satire of the mass media's obsession with violence tells the story of a couple going on a cross country killing spree. Natural Born Killers is incredibly over the top, it's loud, it's nasty and it's in your face brutal. This is balanced with the humour in parts, but more importantly the characters are developed and the film even makes you care about the murderers. Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis and Robert Downey Jr. all give terrific performances, and the frenzied, psychedelic and mesmerizing direction is hugely effective. The best thing about NBK is that it doesn't act like most films of its type. Most films like this go down the route of being highly difficult to watch, but this is disturbing because of the highly intelligent way in which it manipulates viewers' emotions, and by the end I was left feeling very unsettled. Despite this, it's a highly enjoyable and enormously energetic movie much of the time, and it never ceases to be fascinating and provoke thought. 9/10