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Amazon.co.uk Review
Amazon.co.uk Review
Kurt Russell handles the role well, comfortable with the numerous action sequences but also adept at portraying Taylor’s increasing mental anxiety in the kind of role perhaps more associated with the likes of Harrison Ford (a man who loses his wife more often than you or I might lose our car keys). The locals, led in suitably sinister form by the excellent JT Walsh, are a straight out of Deliverance--presented as dumb hicks but also capable of organising a complex kidnap. The film zips by at a pace, dwelling briefly but effectively on the astonishing number of people who go missing each year before culminating in a high-action, edge-of-the-seat climax. Not rocket science but fun all the same.
On the DVD: Breakdown has a suitably epic feel thanks to the vast expanses of desert, and the picture quality on the DVD and the soundtrack’s clear effects do much to enhance this perception. Extras are kept to the bare minimum, with the standard chapter and subtitle selection all that is on offer. --Phil Udell
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Customer Reviews
Before I go into the film I would like to ask you this. Have you ever broken down on a road and as a car pulls up to help, a tiny thought triggers in your brain that maybe they could mean you harm as you sit stranded? Breakdown amplifies that fear. The reason why the film works, for me, is that the tag line "It could happen to you" rings true. The Exorcist didn't scare me but this did. However, if you do prefer supernatural thrillers you are not going to be happy with this.
Before I saw it I remember Barry Norman commenting "The reason why the film works is that the hero is not superhuman and does nothing superhuman." or something like that. And it is true, Kurt Russell's hero runs around like a rabbit stuck in headlights. Suffice to say Kurt Russell is wonderfully as the unfortunate Jeff.
The tension is thick in this film and not one setup is badly handled. The villain is an utterly terrifying truck driver, a man whose every twitch oozes icy malice. When Kurt Russell final turns the tables it is wonderfully satisfying.
Breakdown offers nothing really that new but it wonderfully succeeds on its own terms.
There is a tense, ominous feeling from the start, as Russell and his wife, Kathleen Quinlan, end up stuck in the middle of nowhere, at the mercy of some menacing characters. The great J.T. Walsh plays the leader of the gang, with that perfect mixture of deviousness and cool evil he mastered in so many roles, and writer/director Jonathan Mostow has crafted a tight, well written script from his story, that though it has the occasional improbability, is plausible enough to be intelligent as well as edge-of-the-seat entertainment...because we know this kind of thing has happened to people...and it could happen to you !
Russell, as the helpless pawn of Walsh, is superb, and you see him becoming half-crazed, as he finds himself in a desert twilight zone, unable to get answers to his dilemma...the look in his eyes when Walsh tells him "time to get the show on the road" is a memorable moment in the film.
Quinlan looks stunning, with a natural sensuality that is a rare thing to see these days, and though her screen-time is relatively short, she is one of the ingredients that help make this film believable.
Beautiful cinematography by Doug Milstone of locations in California, Nevada and Utah, and a wonderful score Basil Poledouris add a lot to the film.
Strangely, knowing the ending doesn't diminish the tension of this film...it's a gem that doesn't lose its luster even after several viewings.
Total running time is 93 minutes.
Jeff Taylor and his wife Amy are headed toward a new life in California when their car's engine dies on a remote highway. Read more
plot
A american couple give up their lives to live in Calfornia. Read more
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