The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper

As someone who likes chase scenes and was really intrigued by this fascinating true-life tale, I was optimistic heading into this film but too many obstacles got into the way of the good story it should have been.

THE BAD - I'm a fan of Robert Duvall and many of the characters he has played, but his role here is a dull one as an insurance investigator.

The dialog is insipid and the pretty Kathryn Harrold is real garbage-mouth. From what I read, there were several directors replacing each other on this film, and that's too bad. You can tell things aren't right with the story. I couldn't get "involved" with Treat Williams' portrayal of Cooper, either. He should have been fascinating, but he wasn't in this movie. It's also kind of a sad comment that a guy committing a crime is some sort of "folk hero," but I admit I wound up rooting for the guy, too.

Not everything was disappointing. I can't complain about the scenery, from the lush, green forests of Oregon to the desert in Arizona.

I'd like to see this movie re-made and done better, because it is a one-of-a-kind story.

The mystery of what ever happened to D. B. Cooper is completely abandoned by this film. What we already know is nothing more than a teaser opening with Cooper jumping out of a hijacked plane with $200,000 in twenty dollar bills. What happened after the jump has bee speculated about for well over fifty years. What did not happen is the remaining hour of "The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper." Robert Duvall chasing Treat Williams by car, boat, and plane plays more like a cartoon than a feature film and is a huge misfire. Not recommended for Cooperites. Recommended as brainless nonsense that fails to hold interest and doesn't come close to telling the intriguing story of America's only unsolved plane hijacking.

Here is a fine example of some good ol' Hollywood exploitation. They took the story of famed airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper and decided to make it into a "what if..." scenario by adapting a fictional novel called "Free Fall." Talk about a missed opportunity! Cooper (Treat Williams) lands easily in the woods of Oregon. Just as easily, insurance investigator Gruen (Robert Duvall), whose company is out the ransom money, discovers Cooper is a former charge of his from the Army and begins his pursuit. If you can distance the idea that this is about D.B. Cooper, it is a pretty entertaining chase flick in the SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT vein. I'm sure they threw the Cooper name on there to get the public interested which is a disservice to the film itself. Co-starring Kathryn Harrold, Ed Flanders, R.G. Armstrong and Paul Gleason (in a really scummy turn).

Plays like a backpacker's version of Midnight Run (1988), with Duvall in the de Niro role and Williams in Grodin's. Except this one substitutes mindless action for character development and rust bucket jalopies for clever dialog. The result is more tiresome than funny, despite the attractive cast. In fact, Williams plays DB Cooper's part like it's all a big joke that only he thinks is funny—I agree with the reviewer who finds him way too cutesy. In fact, that could apply to the entire movie.

Worse-- any well-meaning viewer hoping for insight into the heist itself will be sorely disappointed. We see nothing of the crime except for the dramatic dive from the airliner. I suspect that's because threats to blow up the plane would have "serious-ed up" the movie. Then Williams' Cooper would no longer be humorous at all. The one worthy aspect links Cooper to army ranger training, seemingly apt preparation for such a daring wilderness crime.

The movie does have two scenic attractions. There's the great snow-capped panorama of Jackson Hole that keeps the eye entertained whatever the nonsense on the ground. Second is Kathryn Harrold's Hannah. In skintight jeans she presents another kind of natural grandeur that may give backpacking a whole new look. Despite the visuals, however, the topic deserves better than the third-rate Keystone Cops treatment it gets here.

I understand people who were disappointed that the movie did not really dig into the real story of Coopers, hijaking a passenger plane by threatening with a bomb. He jumped out with a parachute, along with 200.000$, now worth about 1,5 mio$ and vanished completely. The traceable money was never found, and not spend, at least not in the US :-)

This true story only serves as a pretext to make a run and chase road movie, which I actually enjoyed, because of many original funny and sometimes spectacular scenes. I won't tell anything to not spoil your fun.

Suffice to say, that the script has 10x more ideas than most of todays movies. Be it his escape from the forest, or the chase with junk cars.

Each situation entertains the viewers good mood, if watching with a positive attitude and without expectations.

The movie starts with a plane, and ends with a plane.

I know what it takes to fly these old warbirds, and the stunts are fantastic, with no visual content cheating by a shaky camera or computer software.

I really would have given it a 6+, because it is a bit simple minded, and lacks sometimes a little bit in coherence.