In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave Fallen Angels three stars out of a possible four:"It's kind of exhausting and kind of exhilarating.
Hoberman and Amy Taubin both placed Fallen Angels on their lists for the top ten films of the decade while the Village Voices decade-end critics poll placed Fallen Angels at No. 10, the highest-ranking of any Wong Kar-wai film [REF].