Movie Review: The Fugitive (1993)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: A good mystery and suspenseful action

Cons: None worth noting

The Bottom Line:

Some good action scenes

With intriguing mystery

Holds up well today

"He's Dead."  "That Should Make Him Easy to Catch."

I have never seen an episode of either TV version of The Fugitive.  I wasn’t born when the 60’s version was airing, and I never got around to watching the 2000 version.  But I’ve seen the 1993 movie take on the story several times and enjoyed it each time.

The story follows Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) who comes home from a late night emergency surgery one night to find his wife (Sela Ward) dying on the floor, obviously murdered.  And the killer is still in the house.  However, by the time the police show up, the killer has fled, and the police can find no evidence anyone else was there.

So despite talking about a one armed man, Dr. Kimble finds himself arrested and convicted of his wife’s murder.  While being transferred after his sentence, the bus he’s on is in an accident, and he finds himself freed but hunted by Special Agent Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones).  Can he stay one step ahead of Gerard long enough to prove his innocence?

Being a mystery buff, I must say from this stand point, the movie is very well done.  I buy the evidence used to convict Kimble, even though we see from the start that he is innocent.  The plot unfolds nicely with clues leading us and Kimble to the ultimate solution.

What sets it apart from the mysteries I normally tend to read is Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent Gerard.  The man is relentless and smart, and he seems to always be one step behind Kimble.  While he starts out with one mission, as Kimble begins to feed him evidence, you can tell Gerard is intrigued.  He is still focused on bringing Kimble in, but he thinks that Kimble might really be innocent.  That makes him a very likable antagonist.

While a mystery movie, there is an action element to it as well.  The accident that really starts the story is still intense.  That’s the biggest action scene, but there are several others including some good cat and mouse scenes.  Yes, some are unrealistic, but this is an action film.

Between the mystery and the action, the intensity never really lets up.  If you haven’t seen it before, you’ll be captivated.  And if you have, you’ll still get caught up in things all over again.

The acting helps.  Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are clearly the stars, but the rest of the cast does a great job of filling their roles as well.  Personally, I get a kick out of seeing Andreas Katsulas, who I best know as alien G’Kar on Babylon 5, out of his makeup.

So whether you’ve seen it before or never watched it, give The Fugitive a look.  You’ll find a movie that is still fun 20 years after it was released.