Haven't written a review in a while. Must get the creative juices flowing again!!!
Haven't written a review in a while. Must get the creative juices flowing again!!!
Member since:01.09.2006
Reviews:72
Members who trust:18
When I first watched Breakdown I really, really enjoyed it, and thought it was a much better film then some of the negative newspaper reviews gave it credit for. Starring Kurt Russell, Breakdown hurls us into a horrible and frightening scenario right from the off, and cranks up the pressure as the film progresses. The entire film is set in the unforgiving Arizona desert, a lonely and barren place, and a great location for the drama to unfold.
Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are moving to California, but to get there they have to drive across the country, and more notably through the vast and very open Arizona desert. After their car breaks down on a long stretch of road with no-one around, their trip comes to an abrupt stop. However, luckily for them, a truck driver arrives and offers to give Amy a lift to a small diner to call a breakdown service for help. When Amy doesn't return, Jeff gets worried, and, after managing to fix the 'fault' in his car, goes back to the diner to look for his wife. When no one in the diner says they have seen Amy, and the truck driver who gave her the lift swears he has never seen her, Jeff becomes embroiled in a very clever and sophisticated kidnapping plot. It is left up to him Jeff to save his wife.
For me the opening half an hour is brilliant drama, and the best part of the film. Watching Jeff as he stuggles to comprehend what has happened is both scary but also very watchable. Kurt Russell, who plays the role of Jeff as straight as possible, is very good playing the average joe who has to beat the kidnappers at their own game. I also enjoyed the performance of J.T Walsh, who plays the truckdriver Warren Barr and the ringleader of the kidnapping gang. He plays his role so well that you really hate him, and are rooting for Jeff to get his wife back. Sadly this was one of Walsh's last screen performances, as he died in 1998. Breakdown is directed by Jonathan Mostow, who's directed the recent Terminator 3 and is in charge of the yet to be released Terminator 4.
Mostow's direction is straight to the point, with not an ounce of humour. For me this makes the film all the better, and more watchable. Without giving too much away I particularly enjoyed the scene at the bank where Jeff is drawing out money to give to the kidnappers. Seeing Jeff sweating and tense, with a torn shirt and messy haircut, makes you really feel for him, and also makes you think about what you would do if you found yourself in a similar scenario. Although I really enjoyed Russell's performance in Vanilla Sky, I still think this is his best screen performance. For me Russell owns this film from start to finish, probably because of the fact that we are following him through nearly every single scene of the film.
The only real qualm I have about the film is that it is slightly slow, although not so slow that it becomes unwatchable. This is only a slight quibble however. Breakdown is a rock solid thriller with a rock solid cast. The action sequences are also superb, particularly at the very end. Breakdown is definately a film that can be watched again and again.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Tautly directed and superbly photographed, this crowd-pleasing thriller from 1997 is ... more
indebted to Steven Spielberg'sDuelbut more closely resemblesDead Calmin its strengths and weaknesses. Kurt Russell plays a stressed-out husband whose wife (Kathleen Qu...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Jeff and Amy decide to change their lives, to give it all up and move to California. But ... more
their car breaks down in the middle of the desert.Luckily a truck driver offers to take Amy to the nearest restaurant to call for help. Finally managing to find th...
Tautly directed and superbly photographed, this crowd-pleasing thriller from 1997 is ... more
indebted to Steven Spielberg'sDuelbut more closely resemblesDead Calmin its strengths and weaknesses. Kurt Russell plays a stressed-out husband whose wife (Kathleen Qu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![Breakdown [DVD] [1998]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78518680.jpg "Breakdown [DVD] [1998]")
very helpful by (70%):
helpful by (30%):
