"My wife did NOT leave me...!!!"      

BREAKDOWN (R) 

Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan) are a Massachusetts couple driving to California.  Winding through the desert southwest, their brand new Jeep unexpectedly seizes up on them, and they're suddenly stuck in the middle of a desert highway.  Fortunately, a considerate truck driver named Red (J.T. Walsh) stops to help, with Amy hopping a ride with Red to a local diner while Jeff waits with the car.

And Jeff waits...and waits...and there's no sign of either Amy or Red returning.  And Jeff waits some more, getting increasingly nervous by the minute...  When Jeff finally does manage to restart his Jeep, he hurries to the local diner where Amy was supposed to be...and they haven't seen her.  Frantic, Jeff tears down the freeway in search of his wife, suddenly realizing that Red (or somebody) has kidnapped her from right under his nose.

Directed by Jonathan Mostow, Breakdown has all the classic elements of a good suspense drama, with ordinary man Kurt Russell stuck in an impossibly difficult circumstance.  The bad guys, led by J.T. Walsh and M. C. Gainey, are despicable to the core, with the desolate southwestern desert creating the more than occasional feeling of isolation.  Yes, the scene's all set for a great edge-of-your seat thriller here.  Unfortunately, Breakdown doesn't quite deliver. 

With plot information revealed too easily and too soon, and with the use of numerous recycled action-elements (how many times have you seen someone hanging on the underbelly of a vehicle for one reason or another...), there's little in Breakdown that hasn't been seen before.  Even the premise of the film seems recycled, taking its cue from The Vanishing films (two of them, 1988 and 1993).  To be fair, I should say that Russell does a fine job in keeping things relatively interesting, but unfortunately it's not enough to take this film much past the "okay" mark.  Oh well...at least Breakdown will help you recollect fondly on all those other great films you've seen before...

Let's see...hanging from the underbelly of a vehicle...I've seen that in: Cape Fear (DeNiro), Maverick (Gibson), one or several of the Indiana Jones movies (Ford), Broken Arrow (Slater), Speed (Reeves), and...and...and...oh, there's got to be others.  Let me know if you can think of some!

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

Callisto gives this movie  stars: "actually, i didn't care much for the movie, but Billy the bad guy, is HOT!!!" (7/12/01)

Jim gives this movie  star: "I thought it sucked" (3/10/99)

satkinso@ycp.edu gives this movie  stars: "This movie is excellent!!! I highly recommend renting and then buying this film. (That's what I dit!) J.T. Walsh and Jack Noseworthy are really convincing bad guys! The storyline is riveting, so remember to breathe! Kurt Russell is great in it, too!" (7/19/98)

cus55@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "If you cross "Duel" with "The Vanishing", you come up with "Breakdown", a *very* scary, riveting, and Alfred Hitchcock-style drama/thriller/action which touches an emotional nerve." (7/3/98)

danielson@nidlink.com gives this movie  stars: "It wasent the action that delivered this to be my favorite movie but the truth, and the catagory of it being a western. I was disapionted when I read your review. This movie made my parents and I hearts just go blank. We didn't consentrait on nothing but the movie. Thus the wonderful cast, Kirt Russel, J.T. Walsh, and M.C. Gainly. So I give this movie a ***** (five star)." (4/9/98)

David gives this movie  stars: "Suspense, suspense, suspense ! This movie was very action- packed. I really liked the story and the bad guys. Kurt Russell is usually a very lame actor but in this he was very good. The movie's idea, copied from the old movie Duel, with truck stalking truck, was good and it is a recommended movie for a good time out." (1/24/98)