The Fugitive (1993)

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, let’s revisit the ‘90’s blockbuster thriller which helped make dying rivers (the Chicago River) green for the holiday mainstream.

This epic blockbuster stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble as The Fugitive on the run after being falsely convicted for the murder of his wife.

It also co-stars Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshall Sam Gerard who’s hot on his trail, in a role for which he won an Oscar. Directed by Andrew Davis, this U.S. Marshall does a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse!

Host: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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THE FUGITIVE - 1993

Directed by Andrew Davis (Audio clip)

Starring Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pantoliano, Jeroen Krabbe, Andreas Katsulas, Julianne Moore, and Sela Ward

Genre: Action Thriller

He didn't kill his wife!!! And HE doesn’t care. (Audio clip) In The Fugitive, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are really two perfect foils even though they rarely share screentime together. Lieutenant Girard (Jones) trying to track down Dr. Kimble (Ford) is just one of those great cat-and-mouse premises which works because you have two actors at the top of their game knowingly playing into their common personas while having us root for both of them. This wouldn't always be the case for years AFTER this film as for me, the Ford “Finger of Doom” shtick started to grate a bit……but it's just fun to watch Ford famously wagging that finger and to see Jones looking perpetually exasperated. :)

And director Andrew Davis brings a lot of tactile fun to this story by filming it ALL on location....apparently in a very ad-hoc down-and-dirty style which was rushed because they started actually shooting this film less than six months before it's planned release date. :o Yup this was one of those studio-pushed big-budget blockbusters adapting existing IP (based on the popular '60s TV show of the same name) which shouldn't have worked on paper but pulled through thanks to a straightforward story pulled off by various talented actors who weren't afraid to improv. No, it's not the kind of film Hollywood doesn't try to make anymore....they just don't usually make them THIS well!

It also happens to be one of THE great Chicago movies - the last 2/3 pretty much takes place in Chicago. I ended up moving to Chicago about nine years after this came out and what was especially cool was that I didn't really have to seek out notable locations featured in the movie....they're just spread throughout and almost unavoidable for anyone who has lived and/or worked in the city (especially in healthcare): Merchandise Mart, Daley Plaza, the Medical District, etc.... (Audio clip)

The city itself becomes its own distinct character, especially with so many at-the-time local actors cast in critical roles like Jane Lynch or Ron Dean, who had made a career out of pretty much JUST gruff Chicago cops. Beyond that, the accents never feel exaggerated or distracting. Oh and that St. Patrick's Parade of course....yup it was pretty much THIS film that alerted the rest of the world - myself included – to the majesty of seeing the City of Chicago dye its river green for the holiday. A sight which I have now witnessed MANY times personally….

The film isn't wall-to-wall action nor does it need to be - there are some fantastic setpieces including Kimble’s now-legendary crash near the beginning….but we’ll get back to that one a bit later. There are just some crazy-good action set pieces and yes the film sorta blows its action wad during its first third with that and the ambulance chase but...it still works as it mainly settles into a ground-based thriller with Ford and Jones anchoring it.

I would say the film's biggest weakness remains its main villains, one of whom becomes obvious just based on the casting. By this point in the early ’90s, Jereon Krabbe had already been consistently typecast as Euro-trash villains in….literally EVERY type of movie from Bond film The Living Daylights to the rom-com Crossing Delancey even to the domestic drama The Prince of Tides where he plays Barbara Streisand’s cheating husband. So when we FIRST see him appear as Kimble’s trusted “friend” Dr. Nichols….fresh off the racquetball court….throwing out hundreds as “pocket change” (as he describes them”….well we just KNOW he’s bad news. (Audio clip)

He just never comes off sincere when he’s talking to anyone so by the time, we have that BIG reveal of Kimble figuring out that he was behind the murder, it’s a BIT anti-climactic….also leading to the film’s climax atop that downtown Chicago hotel which unfortunately is the film’s weakest action sequence. Krabbe’s Nichols just comes off as a fop and sorry but I’m just not buying for ONE second that after all of the impressive physical accomplishments we have seen from Kimble up until this point….that it’s this Nichols guy of all folks who would be able to give Kimble a run for his money in the beat-down department. The climax is fine overall and it’s gratifying to finally see Jones and Ford together in that last scene, it just drags a bit because of too much time spent trying to make Nichols seem like a genuine threat.

As for the other main villain, he’s actually played well enough by Andreas Katsulas as the one-armed man, he just puts out the unique vibe of a former cop who's become domesticated but is still eager to flex his gruff, intimidation tactics just to show that he still can. Unfortunately, he’s not given much to do in the third act, and the way that Kimble defeats him just feels even more anti-climactic. Fortunately, neither villain’s resolution ends up hurting the film too much as what’s really driving the narrative has always been the Kimble v Girard show. Davis clearly knew what he had with these Ford vs. Jones, so why not just run with it? ;) And boy DID he – The Fugitive holds up as one of the best action thrillers of the ’90s or any decade really!

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout the runtime of the film):

This film has a pretty solid, no-frills score from James Newton Howard who helps keep the tension humming along throughout its 130-minute runtime. I say no-frills because it’s your basic orchestral/synth score lacking in any really memorable bombastic themes….but it does the job of supplementing the action and suspense seen on-screen. This is never more evident than during sequences in the second half of the film when we see The Good Doctor ingratiate his way into the local hospital to moonlight as a custodian so that he can investigate their prosthetic division to find the one-armed man he’s been looking for. We hear some synth piano with strings at mid-tempo and at the very least, this helps signal that Kimble is getting closer and closer to finding his man – it kinda reminds me of music we also used to hear during “Law & Order”….though in a good way. The track is called inspiringly enough, “It’s Not Over Yet.” (Audio clip)

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Julianne Moore makes a pretty striking appearance during the second half of the movie as a Cook Country Hospital E/R doctor who notices Kimble in disguise and reports him to the police…..she has nice exchanges with both Ford and Jones. In fact, one of them is one of the best moments in the movie when she reveals to Gerard that Kimble actually saved one patient’s life…just a great moment as Gerard realizes that the person he’s chasing is most definitely NOT a killer. Now this was pretty early in Moore’s career but she was starting to make a name for herself with memorable performances in movies like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Short Cuts…..and apparently, her character was given an entire romantic subplot with Ford’s Kimble which was left on the cutting room floor. Even though I can pretty much understand the futility of giving Kimble a romantic interest during this story – it probably would have just bogged the story down, even making him seem less sympathetic – Moore just brings a lot of dimension to this side character even with minimal screentime. Personally, I still would have loved just another scene or two with this character. (Audio clip)

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

It HAS to be a train/bus crash near the beginning of this movie that sets everything else in motion. Almost three decades later after having seen it so many times now, that sequence STILL just blows me away. All to watch Kimble make such a daring escape no less - you have one train bashing another train forward which smashes into a bus and NONE of these were models at the time?? :o Truly impressive filmmaking all around including some dazzling stuntwork – it’s the action highlight of the movie so how could it NOT be the trailer moment? (Audio clip)

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Upon release, this was mainly promoted as a Harrison Ford action vehicle as he was one of THE biggest movie stars in the world at the time. HE was the fugitive, HE was the guy we were rooting for initially, and as it turns out, HE’S very good in this movie even playing a protagonist who goes long stretches without any dialogue. So why is he NOT the VP??

Because of TLJ….Tommy Lee Jones steals this movie and really provides its personality, that’s why! He’s playing someone dogged, not always likable, and not always infallible – it’s HIS character who undergoes the most interesting arc in this movie, we watch him incrementally start to care and empathize with the person he’s chasing. Not only is his character the most quotable but he’s also the most engaging – through his interactions with various witnesses and/or suspects, we always see those wheels turning but still often in a way that keeps him in control of the conversation….we especially see this in a couple of later sequences when he finally encounters the one-armed man and also follows up with Dr. Nichols. It’s truly a great performance, he justifiably won an Oscar for it, and this movie simply does not work nearly as well without Mr. Jones – for that reason, he is your MVP. (Audio clip)

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

This movie is just such a fun throwback to a time when star-driven action thrillers were a common form of entertainment…..and even in the context of a plethora of thrillers made in the ’90s, it remains one of the best thanks to top-flight performances and filmmaking.

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The Fugitive (1993)

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