The definition of a satisfying Hollywood action drama. Every element in The Fugitive, adapted from the 1960s television series, is a smidge or two above workmanlike—although the Oscars thought even better of it. The movie garnered seven nominations (including Best Picture) and came away with a Best Supporting Actor prize for Tommy Lee Jones. His barking U.S. Marshal—the “warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse” guy—is scenery-chewing of the highest order. It’s ridiculous, but the movie would be a dud without it. Harrison Ford—playing escaped convict Dr. Richard Kimble, out to prove while on the run that a one-armed man actually murdered his wife—isn’t given all that much to work with, as the screenplay cares little about the emotional and psychological implications of Kimble’s predicament. And so Ford is left to squeeze as much character as he can out of decisive action and brief exchanges with Jones. (Their best moment: “I didn’t kill my wife!” . . . “I don’t care.”) The uniquely adversarial relationship between Kimble and Gerard is a frenemy situation, in some ways. They respect each other, but are pitted against each other, so the suspense lies equally in whether or not Gerard will catch Kimble as it does in whether Gerard will come to believe in Kimble’s innocence. Director Andrew Davis keeps the trains running—most spectacularly and literally in the prison bus/train collision that allows for Kimble’s escape—while also spiking the chase scenes with intelligent blocking and clever use of Chicago locations. The Fugitive is a movie of its moment, perhaps—when audiences demanded less cosmic bombast from their action films—but also a bit better than that.
(8/14/2023)
