Today’s quick review: The Fugitive. When his wife is murdered, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is charged with the crime and wrongfully sentenced to death. The crash of his prison bus offers him a chance at freedom. But to find the real killer and clear his name, Kimble will have to stay one step ahead of Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), the hard-nosed United States Marhsal tasked with bringing him in.
The Fugitive is an action thriller based on the TV series of the same name. The Fugitive features a coherent plot, a pair of accomplished lead actors, and just the right amount of tension. Everything that happens in the movie is plausible, if not always probable, giving the movie a sense of realism that other thrillers tend to skimp on. Even with this restriction, the action manages to be flashy in satisfying yet tonally consistent ways.
The premise is a strong one for a thriller: a wrongfully convicted man must flee from the law to prove his innocence. The first half of the film focuses on Kimble’s escape, a breathless sequence of clever dodges and close calls where Kimble is reacting rather than acting. The second half of the film returns to the murder mystery, an interesting tangle of leads. While the sharp boundary between them can be jarring, both halves are excellent thriller material.
The Fugitive’s main characters are stronger than the typical thriller’s. Richard Kimble is resourceful but not superhuman, capable of throwing his pursuers for a loop but not ditching them altogether. His conscience leads him into trouble, as he stops to help people even at the risk of getting caught. Samuel Gerard is an efficient, no-nonsense law enforcement officer, an honest and dedicated man, but single-minded in his hunt for Kimble.
Watch The Fugitive if you are in the mood for a better-than-average thriller. With solid plot progression, a healthy mix of tension and real action, and two familiar faces at the helm, The Fugitive makes for a surprisingly credible watch in a genre known for guilty pleasure. Skip it if you are looking for raw action, a superhuman protagonist, or deep mystery or drama.
7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 to 7.5 for a well-constructed plot and two strong leads.