Based on the 1960s TV series created by Roy Huggins, The Fugitive chronicles the flight of an innocent man who has been wrongfully convicted of killing his beloved wife (Sela Ward). A superb Harrison Ford takes over the David Jansen role of Dr. Richard Kimble, a prominent Chicago surgeon who’s sent on the lam when the bus that’s transporting him to prison has an intimate encounter with a train. The sequence with the train smashing into the wrecked bus was shot live, without the use of miniatures, or special effects, and it’s still one of the best action scenes of its kind committed to film. There’s a great mini-documentary in the special features section that’s entirely devoted to how they shot this scene.
Once on the loose, Kimble keeps running, as he tries to track down the man who really murdered his wife--a man with one arm. The late Andreas Katsulas, who’s better known to science fiction fans as G’Kar from Babylon 5, effectively plays the one-armed man with great menace. But Kimble’s got even more problems than just finding the true killer; he’s being hunted by a team of Federal Marshals under the command of Sam Gerard. Tommy Lee Jones won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe award for playing Gerard, and they were well-deserved. His Gerard is a man with dogged determination, yet still with a laid back style; Jones is very good--as is the posse of actors who surround him, with Joe Pantoliano as Cosmo being the most memorable, and funny, of the sidekicks.
Director Andrew Davis, who also directed Under Siege, does a marvelous job here by always keeping things moving at a fast clip. The screenplay is intelligent and exciting, without resorting to any dumb action movie clichés (with the possible exception of the climatic battle, which drags on a bit too long--but the movie overall is so good, this can be forgiven). The Fugitive is just filled with a breathless intensity that grabs you by the collar from the opening scene and never lets go. The acting is realistic, the wintry Chicago settings very gritty, and the humorous scenes are genuinely funny. The Fugitive is a fun popcorn movie that easily stands the test of time. Go on the run with it tonight.
--SF
Main Review Page | Action/Adventure Reviews |Email Me | Buy This DVD Here!
