When his SUV breaks down on a remote Southwestern road, Jeff Taylor lets his wife, Amy, hitch a ride with a trucker to get help. When she doesn't return, Jeff fixes his SUV and tracks down the trucker -- who tells the police he's never seen Amy. Johnathan Mostow's tense thriller then follows Jeff's desperate search for his wife, which eventually uncovers a small town's murderous secret.
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I watched this movie for the first time likely 20 years ago. Then I watched it 10 years ago and forgot about its existence. In the absence of anything resembling a good thriller coming out of movie industry lately images of this movie started to push through my consciousness. I googled for 2 days based on images but I got it. This, is probably the most underrated thriller of all time. 6.9 ? Give me a break. This is 8+ easy. High tension, suspense and action Scene and tone are laid down in first few minutes. It does not let go from there. Even more important than pure suspense and action, characters are believable and they make rational choices. All in all, a fantastic gem of a movie.
On the surface this movie is a thriller. Kurt Russell is the everyman Jeff Taylor. Kathleen Quinlan plays his wife Amy and she has little screen time. J.T. Walsh, as always, shines in his role as the bad bad man. The story plays out how you anticipate it will and it has a lot of fun along the way. This movie is also an allegory for how poor decision making and losing sight of what's important can jeopardize one's marriage. Consider the fact that in the beginning of the film Jeff and Amy are reflecting on their journey from Massachusetts to San Diego, their financial difficulties, and their regret that they spent so much money on their car, a loaded SUV. Due to Jeff's inattentiveness a series of unfortunate events unfolds. At the critical juncture in the film, when their car breaks down and they are offered a ride, Jeff decides to stay with the car while his wife gets in the truck with the samaritan. The rest of the movie follows Jeff as he fights like hell to save his wife and his marriage. Along the way, he loses the car and all his money but rediscovers what's really important. The moral? Keep your eyes on the road and stick by your wife :)
Once upon a time "Breakdown" would have been considered nothing more than a B-Movie but the kind of B-Movie that might have gone on to become a classic. It's a very simple little suspense movie and it's beautifully directed by Jonathan Mostow. It's also something of a road-movie which, like Spielberg's "Duel" generates a good deal of suspense from its use of great open spaces and the interplay between a guy in a car (Kurt Russell) and a guy in a truck (J. T. Walsh). Russell is perfect as the slightly arrogant hero and Walsh is suitably menacing as the guy who may or may not be behind the disappearence of Russell's wife. Cult movie status beckons.
Every time Kurt Russell is in something you can always rely on a solid film. And once again in Breakdown you will not be disappointed. A solid cast with great directing makes this a must see. A great thriller that keeps you second guessing until the end which I love. Russell always puts in the full 100 percent and it shows here again. Why can't actors do what he does like this anymore. Good performances all around make this a tight entertaining watch that you will feel you have not wasted your almost 2 hours. A fast paced thriller that hits the mark at every turn. See this one and you will see how the 90s had great suspenseful films lacking today.
