Two decades ago Wilf Carr and Stephen Kemmis published "Becoming Critical". Its impact upon burgeoning action research, particularly in the field of education, has been substantial and sustained. However, times have changed. The purpose of this article is to revisit this influential text and explore its currency today. The article is written from an Australian perspective in the light of the many changes that have occurred in the educational landscape in the intervening time in that country. The discussion also recognises the enduring nature of the core message; that is, the need to seek for a critical social science that can guide, illuminate and liberate educational practice. In its conclusion, it is argued that taking the book as a whole, its continuing impact is undeniable. Practitioners and academic researchers are in danger of becoming even more estranged than at the time of its writing. Carr himself recognises that research in education is an unfinished story; successive waves of varying paradigms underpinned by varying philosophies contribute to the education debates in an evolving rather than culminating fashion. We shall be reading this work for some time to come. (Contains 4 notes.)