A fairly taut thriller that gets into gear by stealing parts from Duel, The Vanishing and Deliverance.
Breakdown (1997)
Tomatometer
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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
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Reviews for Breakdown
When you really think about Breakdown -- and believe me, that would probably require spending more time thinking about the movie than the filmmakers did -- it doesn't make much sense.
A terrifying movie that presses the right buttons early on and then capitalizes on your vulnerability.
The film has a few interesting twists, but the movie's main flaws are its over-reliance on wild coincidences to advance the plot and a pace that is overwhelmingly slow until the very end.
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.
[Mostow is] able to sustain a nightmarish reality that is at once gripping and chilling.
...one of the most effective and flat-out engrossing thrillers within recent cinematic history...
Nifty morality play about the invidious vices of envy and showing off.
If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today and working with a '90s sensibility, he'd be proud to claim it as his own.
Latest News for Breakdown
May 21, 2007:
Four Directors Up for the Next "Bond" Flick?
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...
March 09, 2005:
Paramount Looks Forward to Getting "Snow Blind"
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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