The Fugitive (1993)

Release Date:
6 Aug 1993 (USA)

Director:
Andrew Davis

Writers:
Roy Huggins
David Twohy

Cast:
Harrison Ford
Tommy Lee Jones
Sela Ward
Julianne Moore
Joe Pantoliano

IMDb link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106977/

Stephen:
4
(viewed 14 Jan 2008) This movie is not bad, but I was really struck by how dated it seems. It’s hardly fair to take off points because of the time the movie came out, but I think in this case it helps to explain the most prominent problem I had with the film: the banter between the cops, which was simply annoying, neither charming nor clever. The movie isn't old enough to be quaint, but it isn't new enough to be fresh. Example:

Gerard: Newman, what are you doing?
Newman: I’m thinking.
Gerard: Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top…

I don’t know. Is that funny? Or cool? Or even pleasantly corny? (Interestingly, even written on the page it seems better than the actual execution of it in the movie.) When Humphrey Bogart says corny things, it seems timeless, but it just doesn’t work for me here. And I really like Tommy Lee Jones. Sure, he played the same character he usually plays, but he does it well. Maybe the problem is that the cops surrounding Gerard (played by Jones) seemed dim. They were just dull; even a spectacular incompetence would have been something.

Lynne:
6
(viewed 14 Jan 2008) I liked it – and I’ll tell you why. I just love that Tommy Lee Jones. Sure he plays the same character, but damn, he’s good at it, and it’s a good character. The story was a little thin because I like to think that regular cops are a little better at their jobs, and the murder was horribly grisly because Sela Ward is so beautifully perfect it’s hard to see her head get bashed in repeatedly. I did not find the cop banter that unusual or distracting.

Action Items:
None.

Supplementary Details:
None.