Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano
Have I Seen it Before: I strangely remember seeing this in the theater during its original run. It seemed like such a densely plotted Rube Goldberg machine that me and my buddy immediately decided we should have that kind of ambition and launched into an attempt to write the kind of movie where government agents pursue other government agents, and no one is ever entirely certain where true loyalties lie.
We lasted about half an hour.
Did I Like It: Not a great sign that a bunch of thirteen-year-olds see the movie and think that the kind of storytelling on display is within their own grasp. Gone is the tense believability of The Fugitive (1998) and in its place is an over-written mess. Gone is the eminently smart but still grounded Dr. Richard Kimble as played by Harrison Ford and in its place we have Wesley Snipes playing a Wesley Snipes character who—even if he had his reasons—did the murder in question. Gone even is the implacable modern day Javert of Jones’ Gerard, and in his place is a man on quest for revenge that could have been any other character in any other action movie. There’s a reason Gerard and his ragtag group of agents didn’t continue with a new adventure every couple of years.
I’m proud that I was able to go this whole review without damning director Stuart Baird—he of the ignominious Star Trek Nemesis (2002)—on spec, and generally finding beef with the idea that a skilled editor—which Baird clearly is—can be rewarded for bailing out a troubled film by getting the opportunity to direct a movie nobody could have possibly cared about.
Oops. There I go again.
But I suppose it could have all been worse. This could have been a more direct-sequel to The Fugitive and would have groaned through the better part of ninety minutes to put Harrison Ford back in prison clothes. We got off light.