The Fugitive (1993)
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The Fugitive Movie Review
The Fugitive is a 1993 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. It’s a competently made, very entertaining thriller.
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“I didn’t kill my wife!
I don’t care“
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Dr. Richard Kimble is falsely charged with killing his wife. When Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard pursues him after he escapes from prison, Richard realizes that he cannot trust anybody. This was the third biggest earner on the box office for 1993 and it was eventually nominated for seven Academy Awards with Jones winning for his supporting performance. It’s a very good movie, but it falls short of being great.
Being very much both a thriller and an action flick, The Fugitive’s entertainment factor should not be underestimated. It is over two hours long, and yet it was highly engaging and fun from start to finish. When it comes to fun thrillers, you cannot go wrong with this one. My issue lies in its plot. Way too often, the situations that the protagonist gets himself into and out of are overly convenient. Not only was it difficult to believe that he would escape from every single dangerous pursuit, but it was also highly implausible that they would chase him so successfully and so fervently.
With that being said, the relationship that develops between the two men is phenomenal and it’s the beating heart of this picture. You see, Sam realizes that Richard is innocent rather quickly, but he cannot show that outwardly. The way Jones played the role is very smart in making so much out of sparse dialogue and facial expressions. Every single moment where the two faced off against each other was thrilling and by far those were the highlights of the film.
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Tommy Lee Jones, thus, pretty much deserved his Oscar win for what just might be his best performance to date. He was typecast and the character was overly cocky, but Jones was believable and excellent throughout. As for Harrison Ford, I still preferred his turn in ‘Witness’ more, but this was another stellar genre performance from an actor who was a genuinely underrated action star in his own right and the most relatable and believable of the bunch.
The Fugitive develops the main character solidly and his quest to find out and apprehend his wife’s murderer was so well executed. My problem is that those detective mystery elements were so fantastic that they were undeniably rushed and sidelined. I would have preferred more of those scenes and less action. But that action is thrilling in each sequence from the train crash to the superb sewer scenes all the way to the climactic third act.
This was a movie that saw the beginning of so many careers, including the appearances of Julianne Moore and Jane Lynch themselves. Those roles were minor, but the actresses did the best they could with what they were given. As for Andreas Katsulas, he was terrific as the main villain and quite memorable.
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The Fugitive is a lean machine as the sound, score, cinematography and directing are all competent and serving the plot well. This isn’t the deepest film out there, but it’s one of those blockbusters that were genuinely well made and that can be enjoyed even by non-genre fans. It’s, thus, one of the better thrillers of the decade, though it didn’t age most gracefully.
The Fugitive is a 90s thriller that operates as this very lean machine – the score, sound, editing, cinematography and directing are all quite competent. There is also a strong Harrison Ford performance as well as Tommy Lee Jones in one of his best turns. Yes, the movie is highly implausible and overly convenient in many of its situations, but it’s undeniably hugely entertaining from start to finish and genuinely memorable in many of its interesting locations and fun action sequences.
My Rating – 4
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