Le Fugitif

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.

This a one of the best thriller/suspense/action films I have ever watched, and I've seen tons of them for almost 50 years. It "endures" because it is just as entertaining on the sixth viewing as it is on the first.

Of course it helped it was based on a TV show that people my age watched religiously every week, so the plot if familiar and many of us wanted to see how the movie would stack up to the TV program. Well, as good as the TV series was, this was far better. Two scenes alone: the train wreck and Harrison Ford taking a swan dive - were worth the price of the film. Great stuff.

The story has been discussed by many so let me just add how much I appreciate the sound in this movie. When this film first came out on VHS, I used the opening moments as a demo model for various surround systems. The DVD has enhanced that as well as the picture.

The film has just the right amount of action scenes, very interesting characters and a storyline complex enough to bring you back for multiple viewings to totally understand it. Ford, of course, is the star with Tommy Lee Jones a close second, but the more you watch this, the more you appreciate EVERYONE'S acting in this movie.

And, by the way, filmmakers take note: here''s another example how you can make an "edgy" modern-day crime film without a ton of unnecessary f-words.

This excellent film details the adventure of a man's search for his wife's killer and to clear himself of her murder. Harrison Ford is the hero and wanted man and on the run to escape capture by a determined U.S. Marshal in one thrilling scene after another. A spectacular train wreck with a bus of prison-bound felons gets the action underway at which point Tommy Lee Jones enters the picture and takes over the film by sheer force of personality and doesn't let go. Harrison, a resourceful type, stays just ahead of Jones in this taut cat-and-mouse thriller and adroitly leaves just enough clues for the police as he closes in on the killer. Ford and Jones are well matched here in one of the best urban crime mysteries ever filmed. Cast and Chicago locations add realism to a great story.

"The Fugitive" is one of those movies that you may already have seen a dozen of times, but which still seems to surprise every time that you watch it. I don't know what it actually is that makes this movie so good, but it sure works. It's probably the combination of a good script, good acting and the abundance of action that's always present, but never exaggerated.

The movie is about a doctor who's wife has been murdered by a one-armed man. He's innocent but is accused of the murder and convicted by court. He will get a lethal injection soon, but as he is transfered to another jail, the bus in which he is transported with some other inmates, crashes. He knows to escape and is determined to find his wife's murderer, but has to try to stay out of the hands of the police. The result is an interesting cat-and-mouse game between him and the police that never allows your attention to fade away.

The story is perhaps not exceptional, but thanks to the good directing and acting and the constant action and tension, this movie really delivers everything that you can expect from it. I give it an 8.5 - 9/10.

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.