Auf der Flucht

Back in the 60s I tuned into ABC TV on Tuesday night to see how David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble would once again escape the clutches of the law. Kimble was a convicted murderer who escaped execution in a train wreck. Once out Kimble searches for a one armed man he saw leaving his home where his dead wife was who can clear him. Searching for single wing and avoiding the cops was what was behind every episode for four years.

That's still in the film, but it's a more complex motive behind the killing and it involves Kimble's colleagues in the medical field. Harrison Ford who is now Richard Kimble is as resourceful as Janssen was on television. What is a change is instead of the very dour Barry Morse as Lt.Gerard the pursuer and a lone hand pursuer we have good old boy Tommy Lee Jones who is in command of a unit of Fugitive chasers. The voluble and quotable Jones earned himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for what he did here.

The tension is good and crackling throughout and both Ford and Jones have their moments. Ford and Jones are evenly matched as adversaries. As the pursuer Jones could easily have been made to look like Wile E. Coyote as Morse was sometimes over the run of the TV series.

Also Joe Pantoliano has some good moments as Jones's 2nd in command. He has some droll lines.

This is one case where a movie adaption of a classic television series did not make you wax nostalgic for the series.

The Fugitive is a complex thriller with every detail playing a significant role in the outcome of the movie. It's the story of a conspiracy surrounding Dr. Richard Kimble, a surgeon who is on the run while U.S Marshal Samuel Gerard tries to find an explanation of why Kimble was framed for the murder of his wife. The movie has a sticking nature to it, every detail in the actors face will prove that Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones deserve every praise they have received for their performance.

Based on the 1960's Television series, this movie does not disappoint. It makes the watcher want to go back and view the original series to see how it compares.

Arnold and Sly are great action heroes. Their characters are always larger than life. Rambo and Rocky are household names and The Terminator and films like Commando are great partly because of Arnold's physical presence. But as good as they are, I don't think they can hold a candle to Harrison Ford. Sure he is in great shape, but have you ever seen an actor take average guys and make them so real that you want to know them? Take your pick, Han Solo, Indy and even his character in Six Days and Seven Nights was an adventurer. Add Richard Kimble to that list. As Kimble, Ford is perfect. He is the wronged man that has to avenge his wife's death and clear his name at the same time. He is so great in this film and I'm sure that's why so many people went to see this film at first. But I think what kept them coming back was Tommy Lee Jones. We'll get to him in a minute.

Andrew Davis proved here that he is one of the best action directors in the business today. Along with Under Siege, he showed us that he is an efficient artist that knows how to keep the action flowing. He never seems to let up with his relentless pursuit of the perfect scene. But since the film did so well and everyone pretty much knows what it is about, let's talk about the true strength of the film, and that would be Tommy Lee Jones.

" I don't bargain." " Well that's odd!"

His portrayal of Samuel Girard is an exercise in how to make the audience relate and understand a character. He starts off as a manic perfectionist. He is obsessed with capturing Kimble and that is all that matters. But as the film proceeds, you can sense his unease, his wonder and his ethos. You can tell by a simple expression that he is beginning to solve a crime and not just chase a criminal. And the turning point to me was his simple scene where he says " You know Devlin and McGregor made 4 and one half billion dollars last year? That company's a monster. " It is all in his face. He knows that Ford is innocent but he still has a job to do. It is Jones that makes this film so much fun. And I didn't think that there would be a more worthy recipient of best supporting actor in '93 than Kilmer in Tombstone, but Jones' work here was well deserving of his Oscar.

The Fugitive belongs on every top 100 list and if the AFI wasn't so enthralled with older movies, they would see that films like this are more worthy than some of the mediocrity that graces their findings. This is an incredible film.

Nothing is more thrilling to see than two characters with superior intelligences, pitting their wits against each other. A thriller does not require a great deal of plot or techno-babble to be involving or complex, although many distributors of blockbusters today seem to think so. For these reasons, "The Fugitive" is a huge blessing for a movie critic such as I. I was just thrilled by the excitement, the performances by Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, and the whole Hitchcockian aura that this sensational film delivered. Even though we have been seeing too many films based on television series come out lately, "The Fugitive" is certainly not one of those that we can add to that routine bushel.

Ford is Dr. Richard Kimble, a vascular surgeon who is wrongfully accused for the brutal murder of his wife (Sela Ward), and therefore sentenced to be executed. After escaping from a bus crash/trash collision, he finds himself running from the Chicago police and especially the U.S. Marshall service, led by Lt. Gerard (Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones). At the same time, Kimble attempts to prove his innocence and in turn discover who did kill his wife. What ensues is a tangled web of medical conspiracies, along with a search for a notorious "one-armed man." As I have stated, this is a simple plot that requires no superficial decoration.

Ford, who has always been a less dramatic presence in movies and more of a subtle but affected persona, fits the part of Kimble perfectly. With this role, the last thing required is a melodramatic actor that sticks out like a sore thumb. Ford casually settles into the role of the man on the run, bringing intelligence and style to a less ostentatious character. Jones, who has never really been considered a headliner until now, creates a character that is extremely humorous but also calmly diligent. His only goal is to carry out the task he is assigned to, and nothing will stand in his way, least of all a rivaling police force or Richard Kimble himself. One of the fascinating Hitchcockian elements of the film is how it allows its audience to not be able to take sides. We are constantly rooting for both Ford and Jones when either of them come into perspective. We familiarize with both of them and are amused by both equally. The film's finale, which I won't dare give away, satisfies both sides of this rooting coin.

I have not previously been a fan of the director Andrew Davis's work, but with this entry, he certainly has sparked my interest. With such films as "Under Siege," "Code of Silence," and "Above the Law," he has been able to work with action stars that are both larger than life (Seagal, Norris). Here, he uses more intrigue and atmosphere to reach his audience, building suspense and excitement through simple film tools rather than things blowing up or guns going off (However, there is a phenomenal opening crash scene to boot). With quick pacing, a never-a-dull-moment storyline, and great actors, "The Fugitive" ranks itself as one of the best action films of this decade, and definitely one of the best films of 1993. Rating: Four stars.

This is a fine vehicle for Harrison Ford made even more agreeable by a clever, somewhat tongue in cheek performance by Tommy Lee Jones as a US Marshall out to have a good time getting the bad guy, even though the bad guy might not be so bad, and even though that's irrelevant, but hey, don't think so much and get me some coffee and a chocolate donut with those sprinkles on top, ya hear?

This is also a Hollywood producer's orgasmic dream with a chase scene beginning in the first reel and lasting throughout. It is based on the 60s TV show of the same name, but gets its premise from a true crime story, that of Ohioan Dr. Sam Shepherd who actually went to jail for murdering his wife in the 50s. He too claimed to have fought off the real killer, but the forensic evidence and his personality were against him. Here we have Harrison Ford as the good doctor, and it doesn't take a Hollywood genius to tell you that the most popular leading man of the late twentieth century ain't about to play the kind of guy who murders his loving wife.

Ford does a stand-up, competent job, saving lives and patting kids on the head as he plunges through sewers and off the top of a towering waterfall, steals an ambulance, survives a bullet wound and a bus wreck, etc. His fans will be pleased, but Tommy Lee Jones steals the show (and got a Best Supporting Oscar for his trouble) as a clever, wise-cracking good ole boy who has a lot of fun leading the posse. I wonder if he or director Andrew Davis invented the spin because without it, this wouldn't be half so good.

This is not to be confused with, nor is it a remake of The Fugitive from 1947 starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, a cinematic gem of an entirely different sort.

See this for Tommy Lee Jones who has made a career out of turning oh-hum parts into something special.