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Breakdown

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Breakdown (1997)

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78 %
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Reviews Counted: 46

Fresh: 36

Rotten:10

Average Rating: 7/10

Consensus: A brainy and suspenseful -- if somewhat uneven -- thriller.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: After their new Jeep conks out on a desolate stretch of Arizona highway, a well-heeled Massachusetts couple accepts the help of a polite and seemingly honest trucker (J.T. Walsh), who drives the... After their new Jeep conks out on a desolate stretch of Arizona highway, a well-heeled Massachusetts couple accepts the help of a polite and seemingly honest trucker (J.T. Walsh), who drives the wife (Kathleen Quinlan) to a diner while the husband (Kurt Russell) stays behind to "protect" the vehicle. After saying goodbye, the husband gets two surprises--the Jeep starts, and his wife never actually arrived at the diner. What's more, the trucker doesn't recollect having picked her up at all. This taut suspense film, directed by Jonathan Mostow, is light on special-effects bombasticism and heavy on the old-fashioned Hitchcockian chills. [More]

Starring: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey

Starring: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy, Rex Linn, Ritch Brinkley, Susan Brinkley, Moira Harris, Kim Robillard, Thomas Kopache, Jack McGee

Director: Jonathan Mostow

Director: Jonathan Mostow
Screenwriter: Jonathan Mostow, Sam Montgomery
Composer: Basil Poledouris

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 24, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Breakdown

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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...one of the most effective and flat-out engrossing thrillers within recent cinematic history...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
07/06/09
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/03/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A first-rate nail-biter that packs more genuine white-knuckle moments into 100 minutes than a dozen overpriced volcano movies could ever dream of having.

comment Comment
03/03/06
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

A taut, well-crafted suspense film that delivers the paranoid goods.

comment Comment
10/28/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

An engrossing, exciting nailbiter that makes the most of every single one of its efficient 95 minutes.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
10/03/05
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Are we really supposed to empathize with the empathy-proof Kurt Russell? I was actually hoping that his character's wife had run away with the trucker ...

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/07/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
04/21/04
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/08/03
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
05/08/03
Jack Mathews
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Kurt Russell's] lack of energy afflicts the film as much as its director's lack of ideas.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/07/03
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
05/07/03
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A well-crafted thriller.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/07/03
John Paul Powell
Jam! Movies

Pure free-fall fun.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/07/03
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

It's a little silly and you do have to suspend your disbelief, but it's a thrilling ride.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/16/03
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

A taut suspense film.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A spare, solid, sharply paced tale of terror that does what a thriller is supposed to do -- scare the bejesus out of you.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Nifty morality play about the invidious vices of envy and showing off.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/26/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
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Latest News for Breakdown

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Curious to know who'll be directing the next James Bond flick? Join the club. One source has a short list of potential helmers, all of whom would be pretty ... distinctive. More...

June 15, 2005: "T3" Director Hired to Remake "Swiss Family Robinson"
Jonathan Mostow, director of "Breakdown," "U-571," and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," will step behind the camera for Disney's new remake of... More...

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