In the wonderful tradition of Alfred Hitchcock this movie is paced so well that it will keep you bolted to your chair until the last minute. Kurt Russell plays a husband who gets on the wrong side of a group of hillbilly rednecks with a very disturbing plan.
While on a drive to Los Angeles to begin their new lives, Russel and Quinlan drive along the sandy roads of America's deserts and they almost crash into a truck pulling into the road. This is the beginning of a series of events in which Quinlan is kidnapped, Russell hunted down and shot at and lots more. This sounds trivial and predictable, and in a way it is. But Mostow manages to pace the story so well, that you are constantly on the edge of your seat waiting for what happens next and how the heck Russell is going to get himself out of the next situation. This makes up for some of the flaws that the movie has.
Kurt Russell is not one to deliver top-notch acting performances, he is the reason I waited so long to see this movie. I wouldn't believe that he could carry this movie on his own. But he does, he is excellent as the city slicker who is blackmailed to get his wife back. He portrays him and his transformation into the man who takes control fine. Way above my expectations. Quinlan, although her role is fairly small, delivers the goods as the abducted wife. She makes us root for Russell to get her back. The baddies are all too believable. They are the bunch of rednecks you wouldn't want to meet in the first place, but you probably have when you have been driving across America. It's a scary thought that when you are driving in an expensive car you automatically become a target for folks like these, cold chills down my spine.
This certainly is up there in my chiller top ten. It is well acted, cleverly written, although not very original. The finale will leave you breathless, I am sure.
8/10
While on a drive to Los Angeles to begin their new lives, Russel and Quinlan drive along the sandy roads of America's deserts and they almost crash into a truck pulling into the road. This is the beginning of a series of events in which Quinlan is kidnapped, Russell hunted down and shot at and lots more. This sounds trivial and predictable, and in a way it is. But Mostow manages to pace the story so well, that you are constantly on the edge of your seat waiting for what happens next and how the heck Russell is going to get himself out of the next situation. This makes up for some of the flaws that the movie has.
Kurt Russell is not one to deliver top-notch acting performances, he is the reason I waited so long to see this movie. I wouldn't believe that he could carry this movie on his own. But he does, he is excellent as the city slicker who is blackmailed to get his wife back. He portrays him and his transformation into the man who takes control fine. Way above my expectations. Quinlan, although her role is fairly small, delivers the goods as the abducted wife. She makes us root for Russell to get her back. The baddies are all too believable. They are the bunch of rednecks you wouldn't want to meet in the first place, but you probably have when you have been driving across America. It's a scary thought that when you are driving in an expensive car you automatically become a target for folks like these, cold chills down my spine.
This certainly is up there in my chiller top ten. It is well acted, cleverly written, although not very original. The finale will leave you breathless, I am sure.
8/10