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The Fugitive (1993)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
9/03, 5/18, 7/21
5/18:
Patterning itself after the famous TV show, The Fugitive does me a favor by condensing the plot into a 130-minute film
from 120 episodes with 51 minutes each which comes to 102 hours for you mathematically challenged people.
Whew...that's a lot of time saved. Even Harrison Ford, who actually grew his own beard, never saw the TV show. The film starts
off awkwardly with many problems in logic. Dr. Kimble won't have been able to survive the train/bus crash without broken
bones and all. The opening sequence has also left me thinking that the murder and the trial both happened in the same week.
Afterwards, it shapes into a rousing adventure when Harrison Ford gets in his Indiana Jones mode that I love him for it.
That's when the movie becomes better, and it's fun to watch, hence the '9' rating. There are many good moments.
Notwithstanding Julianne Moore, the acting is fantastic, and Andreas Katsulas will always be that one-armed guy.
When I first saw The Fugitive in 1993, I didn't think of the picture in terms of acting accolades. Hence,
I was surprised when the announcement came during the Academy Awards that the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor went to
Tommy Lee Jones. Don't get me wrong. I like Tommy Lee Jones and think of him as a great actor. I don't think he had ever given
a bad performance; the point is that Oscars are never handed out for action-adventure films despite the fact that
there have been many great ones over the years. I wasn't expecting it at all for Tommy Lee Jones who even admitted this
much, "It's not like anyone is going to win any awards for this film."
After seeing The Fugitive again for the fifth time or so, I can see now why Tommy Lee won it; he's simply masterful
although I don't like his supporting cast, especially that black woman with the weird head thing. Their arrogance is annoying
as they try to come off as "cool." At one point, I didn't get why Samuel Gerard had to shoot Dr. Kimble, who was basically
unarmed, when he was escaping from the jail-courthouse building.
All in all, The Fugitive is among great action pictures of the 90's.
7/21:
There's a lot to like about The Fugitive: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, and the murder mystery.
Having finished number three at the box office in 1993, the editing is superb which earned an Academy Award nomination for six guys.
It's like watching Harrison Ford versus The French Connection.
Plenty of stuff are borrowed from The Package with
some Above the Law, both directed by Andrew Davis.
Tommy Lee Jones is an absolute master of organization, telling people get on it and do their jobs and refusing to take no
for an answer. That's why he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor although he was really in the leading role. Believe it
or not, it's not his best performance; that'll be
The Executioner's Song which is a must-see for all Tommy Lee Jones fans.
All in all, The Fugitive is a thrilling picture that continues to stand the test of time.