Logging

Film: The Fugitive

They don't make them like they used to. The wife and I rewatched this great film and she screams at the TV "that's a real train!" during the near-beginning action sequence. Ahhhh. Film. How low we have come that this is now a historical curiosity. I know making films is hard, but why can't Hollywood generate one film on par with The Fugitive each year. It seems reasonable, does it not? Just one. And it is not like this is some avant garde, dream-like request. This is just a simple action-chase film with good characters and people love it. Strange.

A thought on rewatching -- doesn't the bad guy plot actually make no sense whatsoever? Why the hell would the head cardiologist at a hospital decide to kill Richard Kimble? So the drug company could sell shitty drugs to doctors around the country? Does a head cardiologist really need extra money? And why did he try to kill Richard Kimble? Kimble hadn't even figured it out yet. I only bring this up because IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER. The great acting, the chases, the fun dialog, the cat and mouse, and Tommy Lee Jones all make it irrelevant.

A couple years ago, I rewatched and didn't care for the use of flashbacks. Now, I've lessoned my stance on such things...the filmmaking is a bit dated since the B&W, etc was copped by Law & Order, etc...but the film is all about tension. They milk tension in every single little section of the film and the flashbacks contribute to it. Two excellent, small moments in the film - Kimble at the hospital where a cop is looking for him. They introduce this random cop character looking for Kimble right after he's shaved and changed his clothes. They bump into each other in the hall and have a little exchange. They milk some excellent tension out a scene that in other movies, our hero just grabs clothes and cuts his beard. Another great tension builder is towards the end in the subway. Kimble is riding and he sees this greasy looking El Salvadorian guy reading a tabloid where his picture is on the back page. Kimble and we see the picture, the greasy El Salvadorian doesn't...yet...he flips the paper around casually and then looks over at Kimble and gets skittish. He leaves his seat to go find a cop, meanwhile, the one-armed man boards the subway (already set up that he is after Kimble). Chaos and fight ensue, but this added layer of tension creates a very gripping scene that in other movies just might amount to a dumb chase between 2 guys.