Breakdown

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Breakdown

R

1997

1h 33m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

While traveling to California, Taylor and his wife, Amy, experience a vehicle malfunction on a remote highway. Amy Taylor accepts a ride from a truck driver to seek assistance while Jeff Taylor remains with the vehicle. When the couple fails to reunite at a designated location, Jeff Taylor begins a search for his wife despite a lack of assistance from local residents or law enforcement.

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Critics Consensus

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

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

07/01/2022

3.5/4

Its simplicity is striking, and because the central premise is wholly believable, the sensational and impossible aspects become equally genuine as the film goes along.

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Stephen Hunter

Washington Post

05/07/2003

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

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Jeff Strickler

Minneapolis Star Tribune

11/06/2002

3.5/5

A taut suspense film.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

07/16/2025

4/5

…Breakdown deserves an audience by virtue of a no-frills, all-thrills approach to involving and satisfying an audience in 93 minutes flat, with no stops or comfort breaks….

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Jen Johans

Film Intuition

10/13/2021

Clocking in at roughly ninety minutes, Mostow's film plays like a gritty yet glossy entry into the universally relatable Ordinary Person in Extraordinary Peril subgenre

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

09/24/2021

3/4

A turbo-charged thriller.

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Melissa L

@Agent99 May 30

It's Kurt Russell, what else can I say? This movie is full of action, drama, mystery, and suspense. Very tense with a great ending.

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Sharang L

@Scribe187 Apr 19

Almost the perfect thriller. Kurt Russell is terrific. To imagine that such perilous action scenes (specifically the bit where Russell or his double hang off the truck undercarriage) were shot with real actors, boggles the mind in this age of AI-generated thrills. Not for a minute does one feel they are watching a 30-year old movie.

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Simon T

@MovieTart Apr 3

A riveting first 20 minutes unfortunately becomes a rather tedious middle act, and a ludicrous finale. It's a pity, because the initial premise - a breakdown in the middle of the baking desert and the unexplained disappearance of one of the protagonists - is a good one. It's very obviously modelled on better movies like Duel, Deliverance, Psycho and The Vanishing, but becomes both over-explanatory and under-developed. Its strengths are good performances by Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh, efficient direction by writer Jonathan Mostow, and a good action score by Basil Poledouris.

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Garry A

@heavyg Mar 28

It takes a while to pick up steam but once the suspense kicks in it's an enthralling film. This is one of the better thrillers made in the 90s.

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Bilbo B.

@NolanEnthusiast Mar 7

Criminally underrated thriller. Classic 90’s car engine failure and a couple gets stranded on side of the road but it goes a whole other level and the last 45 minutes are so chaotic. Good mystery at first and then once you realizing what’s going on, you’re on the edge of your seat the rest of the movie. You either love or hate this flick, but majority will definitely love it

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 17

One of my favorite movies of all time. But it's sad because no one knows about it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole dang time!!

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Jonathan Mostow

Director

Kurt Russell

Jeffrey "Jeff"' Taylor

J.T. Walsh

Warren "Red" Barr

Kathleen Quinlan

Amy Taylor

M.C. Gainey

Earl

Jack Noseworthy

Billy

Breakdown: Official Clip - I Want My Wife Back

2:13

Breakdown: Official Clip - Give Me the Key

1:57

Breakdown: Official Clip - Truck to the Face

2:12

Breakdown: Official Clip - What Do You Want?

2:02

Breakdown: Official Clip - Jeff Rescues Amy

2:11

Breakdown: Official Clip - Truck Chase

2:12

Breakdown: Official Clip - Earl Shoots the Sheriff

2:13

Breakdown: Official Clip - Jeff Breaks Free

2:07

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Synopsis

While traveling to California, Taylor and his wife, Amy, experience a vehicle malfunction on a remote highway. Amy Taylor accepts a ride from a truck driver to seek assistance while Jeff Taylor remains with the vehicle. When the couple fails to reunite at a designated location, Jeff Taylor begins a search for his wife despite a lack of assistance from local residents or law enforcement.

Director: Jonathan Mostow
Producer: Martha De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis
Screenwriter: Jonathan Mostow, Sam Montgomery
Production Co: Dino De Laurentiis Company
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.2M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)