One of the greatest action films ever made, "The Fugitive" tells the story of Dr. Richard Kimble, a surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife, and how he is pursued by the relentless Deputy Sam Gerard after his escape from police custody. As exciting as the film's action scenes are (especially the one showing the bus-train crash that allows Kimball to escape), they do nothing tp eclipse the sheer power of the two main actors, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Jones especially is so intriguing, and his character so interesting, that you constantly ask yourself when he will re-emerge when he is not on screen (though Ford is wonderful as well in a somewhat more conventional role).
The film wisely asks you to see a manhunt from two very different perspectives. Ford is the escapee fighting for his very life, and he rushes almost nonstop in and around Chicago in an attempt to prove his innocence of the crime of which he has been convicted. Jones, a U.S. Marshall, is concerned only with bringing his fugitive back to justice, as is revealed in the now-famous exchange, made when Jones confronts Ford for the first time (and at gunpoint):
Kimble: I didn't kill my wife!
Gerard: I don't care.
Two minor faults: the scene in which the reason for Kimble's framing is revealed is just a tad confusing, or was to me at any rate. Also, "The Fugitive" takes the all-too-familiar route of having a final chase scene that takes up a significant percentage of the movie's running time. I realize that this is the way action movies are "supposed" to end, but I always find the protracted expenditure of energy on the characters' part personally draining rather than invigorating. Sometimes less is more, even in this genre.
That aside, a fantastic film with surprises at every turn, and bonuses of the kind ya can't hardly find no more.
The film wisely asks you to see a manhunt from two very different perspectives. Ford is the escapee fighting for his very life, and he rushes almost nonstop in and around Chicago in an attempt to prove his innocence of the crime of which he has been convicted. Jones, a U.S. Marshall, is concerned only with bringing his fugitive back to justice, as is revealed in the now-famous exchange, made when Jones confronts Ford for the first time (and at gunpoint):
Kimble: I didn't kill my wife!
Gerard: I don't care.
Two minor faults: the scene in which the reason for Kimble's framing is revealed is just a tad confusing, or was to me at any rate. Also, "The Fugitive" takes the all-too-familiar route of having a final chase scene that takes up a significant percentage of the movie's running time. I realize that this is the way action movies are "supposed" to end, but I always find the protracted expenditure of energy on the characters' part personally draining rather than invigorating. Sometimes less is more, even in this genre.
That aside, a fantastic film with surprises at every turn, and bonuses of the kind ya can't hardly find no more.