Discuss Breakdown
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Over rated imo.
posted by microscopeSTAFFMOD on July 23, 2018 at 5:51 PM
I saw it in a list of great action movies and it is miles from being great. It is a typical anxiety flick and not much different to teen horror films where the big boobed girl is being chased by a psycho who is walking, and she can't stop falling over. I would have liked this a lot more if they made it a bit more believable. I don't believe he would have left his wife with a trucker, especially after getting into conflict with the redneck who is stalking them. I don't believe the cop would have let them both go after him accusing someone of abduction. I don't believe someone would be so clueless to the prevalence of guns that they would get aggro with an obvious piece of shit like the guy running the diner. I don't believe he would drive his truck into a river just because one guy with a gun is chasing him. I don't believe he would finally get a gun and finally get them where he wanted them at the end, and completely ignore the kid. I don't believe he would lock them in the cellar with a flimsy padlock and the other guy on the loose. Or flee. And then the ending was ridiculous.
Reply by AlienFanatic
on July 23, 2018 at 8:53 PM
There are parts that are good, and others that are not, I agree. I'm an unabashed Kurt Russell fan, so I go back to it on occasion, but it's not difficult to notice its flaws.
This does remind me of another, vastly superior kidnapping movie called The Vanishing (AKA "Spoorloos," the 1998 version, not the version with Jeff Bridges and his ridiculous speech impediment.) Now THAT is a terrifying film with a deeply unpleasant ending.
Reply by microscope
on July 24, 2018 at 6:04 AM
Thanks I'll check that out. I saw one called Prisoners recently that was really good. I like Kurt Russell too.
Reply by Drooch
on July 24, 2018 at 9:02 PM
Agreed. The Vanishing (original) is how this kind of film is done properly. It explores the maddening mystery of not knowing, while offering a portrait of evil that is chilling and sometimes funny! The ending seals its status as a masterpiece.
Breakdown starts compellingly but then tosses away the engaging mystery for a mediocre thriller. I seem to remember the director having a track record of banal films.
Reply by Drooch
on July 29, 2018 at 8:32 PM
It just about survives because of Kurt Russell’s enduring appeal and as one of J T Walsh’s final works, other than that it reeks of straight-to-video.