The Fugitive

365 Films

Entry #21

The Fugitive (1993)

Directed by: Andrew Davis

When I selected The Fugitive for this blog, I never thought about how I would eventually tackle it.  On the surface there’s nothing that remarkable embedded in my memories of it.  It’s not a film that has inspired any kind of controversial re-interpretation in the intervening years.  For lack of a better expression, it is what it is.  Then I thought about it some more and in a way, that’s kind of marvelous.  It’s fair to say that I’ve become fairly disillusioned with the state of modern actions films.  What passes for action these days is usually infested with superheroes, Jason Statham, or starring a bunch of old dinosaurs from the 80’s with Jason Statham for support.  Since we’re on the subject, I feel that I have given a pretty fair shake to Mr. Statham and his films and the only thing I can come up with is: this is the best we can do?  Getting back to the matter at hand, the years have been very kind to The Fugitive.  It has an endearing no-nonsense quality about the action and story.  The direction by Andrew Davis, while always spot-on, never distracts with that stab-you-in-the-face assaultive approach to cinema that seems to have taken over Hollywood.  We seem to have lost our patience for the workman approach to action filmmaking designated by the likes of Mr. Davis, John McTiernan, or Wolfgang Petersen.  The train/bus crash escape sequence alone is an incredible action set piece.  Filled with dynamic sudden twists of luck and an escalating sense of exhilarating danger from otherwise ordinary means of public transportation.  It’s a showstopper in the best sense of the word.  This was certainly one of my first acknowledgements of what a “set-piece” was in an action movie.  I can’t think of a better film to introduce me to this incredibly rewarding cinematic practice.  But before I fall into that trap of bemoaning the loss of how things “used to be”, I will point out that The Fugitive certainly had its moment in the sun.  It was nominated for seven academy awards, winning supporting actor for Tommy Lee Jones.  It also dominated the pop-culture landscape from the year it was released to the end of the decade.  I can think of at least several different Simpsons parodies right off the top of my head.   I think all of that is a testament to what a well crafted, ingeniously devised, and character heavy action movie can accomplish when given the right amount of care.  It is entirely possible that this kind of movie can have a new renaissance in our day and age.  We just have to demand it.