The Fugitive (1993)

“Alright, listen up, people. Our fugitive has been on the run for ninety minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground barring injuries is 4 miles-per-hour. That gives us a radius of six miles. What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at fifteen miles. Your fugitive’s name is Dr. Richard Kimble. Go get him.” – Deputy Marshall Samuel Gerard

Number of Times Seen – at least 10 times (Theater in 1993, video, DVD and 29 Jan 2014)

Brief Synopsis – A respected surgeon accused of brutally murdering his wife and after repeatedly claiming his innocence he is relentlessly pursued by a dedicated US Marshall when he finds himself on the run.

My Take on it – I recall when this movie came out and the excitement my friends and I felt when we saw this in the theater opening weekend.

Harrison Ford is great here and plays both the dramatic and action sequences very well and the viewer feels sympathetic to his innocence.

As good as Ford is here, Tommy Lee Jones is even better and steals every scene that he is in.  He has always been a powerful actor and this movie highlighted this.  His character is very driven but is so very likeable by the viewer that we know that he is just trying to do his job as well as possible.  He won a Best Supporting Oscar for this role.

This movie takes the thriller concept to another level and it deservingly was nominated for Best Picture.  It didn’t really have a chance to win, but it’s inclusion proved that a tightly written (and witty) thriller, expertly acted and executed can be seen as more than just a mediocre action/popcorn flick and be compared with some of the best Hollywood has to offer.

Look for future stars Julianne Moore and Jane Lynch in small roles.

Bottom Line – Great action/thriller.  Ford is great here, but Jones steals the show. Highly recommended!

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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