On the run, searching for the one-armed man.
by Hunter Isham"A murdered wife. A one-armed man. An obsessed detective. The chase begins." That's the tagline to the 1993 thriller The Fugitive, based on the popular television show about Dr. Richard Kimble, a man wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife who sets out to find the killer, a one-armed man, while playing a game of cat and mouse with a U.S. Marshall. This film is probably the best adaptation of a TV show ever made, validated not only by strong box office and high praise from critics, but also by a slew of nominations and awards, including a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It's a gripping film that succeeds in every way imaginable, and while I wasn't around when it was first released in August 1993, I can say that as the film turns 20 it's held up for me over the seven or so years that I've been a fan.
Harrison Ford is Kimble, and he gives one of his best performances as a man who struggles to cope with his wife's violent death while he sets out to solve the mystery and clear his name. Ford no longer needs to prove himself in the action/thriller genre, having years of excellent genre films under his belt, but his turn as Kimble shines through what, in a lesser film, would have been mundane chases and fights. An early scene in which he's interrogated about the murder demonstrate's his truly great, and rarely recognized, ability as an actor, with Kimble's fragility at the forefront, and the now trademark Ford gruffness nowhere to be seen. Richard Kimble is hardly an action hero in the mold of Indiana Jones, and Ford perfectly plays him as a smart man caught in one desperate situation after another. Of course, the chase would seem like nothing were it not for the dedicated Marshall Samuel Gerard, played to Oscar-winning perfection by the incomparable Tommy Lee Jones. He has had many roles that perfectly suit his look and demeanor, Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln being the most recent, and Gerard fits in with that group splendidly. However, one thing that stands out about the U.S. Marshall is his wit and spry personality. Jones is more active in The Fugitive than I had remembered, and it's wonderful to see him in a role that makes him just as much an action star as the lead character. The rest of the cast is rounded out with some familiar faces (Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Jane Lynch, Joe Pantoliano), and they're all great in their roles, but there is simply no mistaking that this is Ford and Jones' movie.
Director Andrew Davis takes his top-notch cast and uses it to populate a sprawling rural Illinois and Chicago, making great use of the city and some of its trademarks. One chase scene is even staged amidst the famous Saint Patrick's Day Parade, adding a bit of local flavor to the film, something that gives it a fine texture rather than a generic, forgettable big city backdrop. Davis also stages some fantastic stunts, the most breathtaking of which comes early in the film when a train barrels down the tracks toward the crashed bus carrying the convicted Kimble. A real train was used; no miniatures or computer work here. Like the tube train crashing through the old station in Skyfall, it's the kind of spectacular effects work that makes you think, "How did they pull that off? It looks so real!" Davis and his screenwriters, Jeb Stuart and David Twohy, keep things moving at a good clip, as the film never drags or speeds along too quickly. We get all of the pertinent information in a way that's both clear and intriguing, and best of all, the twists of the plot don't distract from the thrills. Helping to tie everything together, James Newton Howard contributes a score that keeps your pulse racing while you stay firmly planted on the edge of your seat.
When a movie based on a television show is nominated alongside Schindler's List* and In the Name of the Father, attention must be paid. Even more so when such a film contains some of the best work of two legendary actors' careers. Harrison Ford has starred in so many classics that it's easy to forget the ones that don't involve bullwhips and lightsabers, and The Fugitive is unfortunately one of his triumphs that falls through the cracks. Most people probably remember it more for Tommy Lee Jones, something that they would do without fault, but Ford is the emotional center of the film, and it is his work in conjunction with Jones' that makes the film work so spectacularly. There are many films I watch without finding any faults, and The Fugitive is certainly one of those movies, but it becomes something greater by being a film that is not only perfectly executed, but also a film that rises above the conventions and unoriginal story that sink so many films of both the thriller and TV adaptation classes. The Fugitive defies expectations in every way possible, and it does so with such heart-racing style and substance that you'll be left wondering why it hasn't reached the classic-status it so rightfully deserves. 10/10
*Funny story, Ford presented the Best Picture Oscar to his buddy Steven Spielberg for Schindler's List.
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