Frantic

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Frantic

R

1988

2h 0m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

While attending a medical conference in Paris, Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) is horrified when his wife, Sondra (Betty Buckley), is abducted from their hotel room while he is taking a shower. Using his limited knowledge of French language and culture, Walker must navigate the bureaucracy of French law enforcement and ultimately, with the help of street waif Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), infiltrate Paris' criminal underworld in order to discover what really happened to his wife.

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Critics Consensus

A tense, on-point thriller in the vein of Polanski's earlier work.

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

Feb 19, 2010

3/5

One of the best traditional thrillers to come down the pike in quite some time.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Feb 19, 2010

[Polanski's] usual surrealism is almost completely absent.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Oct 18, 2008

A thriller without much surprise, suspense or excitement.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 16, 2026

2.5/4

There are so many good things in "Frantic" that one feels irritated the movie as a whole isn't better than it is.

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Tom Hutchinson

Radio Times

Nov 11, 2025

4/5

It's a Hitchcockian idea, but Polanski embellishes it with his own baleful theme about the uneasy nature of human existence, which is given added tension by Ennio Morricone's dramatic score.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 9, 2023

7/10

The progression of events and the structuring of the plot, steadily escalating toward a volatile climax, are sharply handled.

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Gi S

@Gistevenn Mar 23, 2026

I not a harrison ford fan, and i certainly not a fan of polanski.

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Matt L

@Mattliptak Feb 19, 2026

Frantic starts with a solid premise and Harrison Ford doing everything he can to carry the film, but it falls apart fast. What should have been a tight, suspenseful thriller turns into a slow, aimless mess. Roman Polanski completely misses the mark here—the pacing drags, the script feels half-baked, and any tension disappears almost as soon as it begins. The story quickly becomes dull and unfocused, with scenes that go nowhere and a plot that never builds real momentum. Even Ford’s effort can’t save it. The score is distracting and off-putting, making things even worse instead of adding suspense. In the end, this is a forgettable, frustrating movie with wasted potential. A boring, poorly executed thriller that never delivers on what it promises.

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Chris L

@MovieC Jan 15, 2026

Movie started out good, suspense, intrigue but halfway through the movie the main character's actions became illogical and he made dumb mistakes throughout the movie. What was unexplained is why he didn't report what he found out to the authorities when they came to investigate his room break-in. This is where I began to lose interest in the movie.

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Karl N

@RT02655090 Oct 6, 2025

Just not my type of movie. A lot of seedy characters in seedy parts of Paris and Harrison Ford’s character just keeps making dumber and dumber decisions.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jun 23, 2025

Filme ruim, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, o filme ruim e também chato, um dos piores do roman polanski

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown Apr 4, 2025

Young Harrison is trying to find his wife who disappeared from a Paris hotel room. All over a device with 4 wires. Pretty dull.

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Roman Polanski

Director

Harrison Ford

Dr. Richard Walker

Emmanuelle Seigner

Michelle

Betty Buckley

Sondra Walker

John Mahoney

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Synopsis

While attending a medical conference in Paris, Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) is horrified when his wife, Sondra (Betty Buckley), is abducted from their hotel room while he is taking a shower. Using his limited knowledge of French language and culture, Walker must navigate the bureaucracy of French law enforcement and ultimately, with the help of street waif Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), infiltrate Paris' criminal underworld in order to discover what really happened to his wife.

Director: Roman Polanski
Producer: Tim Hampton, Thom Mount
Screenwriter: Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers, The Mount Company
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 26, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.5M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround

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