Click here to copy URL

The Sugarland Express

1974

Steven Spielberg

Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks ...

5.8

2,636

Drama. Adventure

Drama. Adventure

When faced with the loss of her infant son, Lou-Jean Poplin makes her husband, Clovis, escape from a minimum security prison. Threatened with capture, the couple take rookie Texas State trooper Maxwell Slide hostage, and head across the state in his patrol car. Pursued by dozens of police cars, the trio contend with their sudden elevation to folk heroes, and vigilantes out to stop them. Their only real friend may be trooper Captain ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Variety	"The film degenerates in final reels to heavy-handed social polemic and sound-and-fury shootout (...) The comedic impact is enhanced by terrific visual staging."
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"Spielberg has paid too much attention to all those police cars (and all the crashes they get into), and not enough to the personalities of his characters (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Stephen Farber The New York Times	"The derivative nature of the script is less offensive than the filmmakers' manipulative technique (...) Spielberg sacrifices narrative logic and character consistency for quick thrills and easy laughs"
		Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"A fluid, entertaining chase picture (...) Overall this is a brilliantly calculated audience pleaser"
		Noel Murray AV Club	"It's a potent visual representation of how problems pile up, as well as a hint of the devastating force Spielberg himself was prepared to unleash."
		Simon Braud Empire	"Unheralded Spielberg masterpiece (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Bilge Ebiri Rolling Stone	"Unlike most entries in this subgenre (...) Spielberg's film is much more of a ride – the glee with which he orchestrates car chases and crashes is thrilling to watch"
		Chris Petit Time Out	"A beautifully put together, assured film."
		Tony Sloman Radio Times	"Marvellously constructed (...) The set pieces are beautifully handled (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.