The Fugitive / U.S. Marshals

A murdered wife. A one-armed man. An obsessed detective. The chase begins.

THE FUGITIVE (15)

D: Andrew Davis

Warner/Barish (Arnold Kopelson)

USA 🇺🇸 1993

127 mins

Action/Crime/Thriller

W: Jeb Stuart & David Twohy [based on the TV series created by Roy Huggins]

DP: Michael Chapman

Ed: Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Dov Hoenig & Richard Nord

Mus: James Newton Howard

PD: Dennis Washington

Cos: Aggie Guerard Rodgers

Harrison Ford (Dr. Richard Kimble), Tommy Lee Jones (Deputy Samuel Gerard), Sela Ward (Helen Kimble), Joe Pantoliano (Cosmo Renfro), Andreas Katsulas (Sykes), Jeroen Krabbe (Dr. Charles Nichols), Julianne Moore (Dr. Eastman), Daniel Roebuck (Biggs)

The early 1990's saw a huge surge in movies adapted from 1960's TV programmes and the best of the lot was arguably 1993's The Fugitive, surprisingly nominated for the year's Best Picture Oscar and winning Best Supporting Actor for Tommy Lee Jones.

Whilst the TV series stretched the story out for four seasons, the film abridges it into 130 minutes, without compromising an interesting narrative or dramatic tension.

Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a vascular surgeon wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and sentenced to death row. He escapes from custody and begins a search for the real culprit, a one-armed man. Meanwhile, a nationwide manhunt, headed by US Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones), is seeking Kimble to bring him back to justice.

The Fugitive is one of the ultimate cat-and-mouse thrillers, held together with nail-biting set pieces, taut direction and great performances from it's main two actors, particularly Tommy Lee Jones, with one of the most iconic acting performances of the decade, one which received much parody and imitation in the years following.

8/10

U.S. MARSHALS (15)

D: Stuart Baird

Warner Bros (Arnold Kopelson & Anne Kopelson)

US 🇺🇸 1998

131 mins

Action/Thriller

W: John Pogue [based on characters created by Roy Huggins]

DP: Andrzej Bartkowiak

Ed: Terry Rawlings

Mus: Jerry Goldsmith

Tommy Lee Jones (Chief Dep. Samuel Gerard), Wesley Snipes (Mark Sheridan / Mark Roberts), Robert Downey, Jr. (Agent John Royce), Joe Pantoliano (Dep. Cosmo Renfro), Kate Nelligan (Msl. Catherine Walsh)

A sequel, of sorts, to 1993’s The Fugitive, with Tommy Lee Jones reprising his role of Chief Deputy Samuel Gerard for another manhunt, this time pursuing Mark Sheridan, a government agent gone rogue, though he claims he’s a victim of a set up by his own department.

Whilst it’s great seeing Tommy Lee Jones slipping into the shoes of the character that won him an Oscar, the incredibly tenuous link to the previous, far more superior movie is all that lifts this from a rather formulaic & completely predictable chase movie.

Entertaining enough for its run time, but a serious let down considering what a brilliant film The Fugitive is.

5/10