AuthorGreedo Where to watch:
Amazon Prime; a VHS tape in your cousin's basement Impression: Kurt Russel stars in this taut thriller from the 90's. I'm pretty sure Kurt loses his wife at a truck stop while on a road trip. He finds out that she was kidnapped by mean truckers and tries to save her. Now, I'm wondering if I thought this was going to be Black Dog...I'll watch that one later. Reaction: Kurt Russel and Kathleen Quinlan have pleasant chemistry. Then, Kathleen gets kidnapped by Evil Rednecks - "y'aint from aroun'ere ar'ya?" - and she doesn't say much of anything after that. Let's go back a little bit. First, Kurt Russel doesn't lose his wife at a truck stop. He waves goodbye as she gets in the cab of a stranger's Mac truck after the titular breakdown of the family car. Who would do that you ask? Someone secure in their manhood like Kurt Russel in 1997. Kurt uses his extreme manhood to get the car running and drives to meet his wife and the strange truck driver at the nearby diner; but she's nowhere to be found. Good setup. Is this the weird colluding village from Wicker Man? No, it's not. The towns people seem to be involved but there is no closure on this point. But that's not the point of the movie. The point of the movie is Kurt Russel hunting evil rednecks. The pacing is solid, and for fans of the thriller genre, logical problems will be quickly subsumed by the next action set piece. I have some favorites but Kurt Russel panic-driving into a river takes me to a happy place. Here's my favorite line: "Give me back my wife!" A little on the nose but dig the commitment. Conclusion: The sum is greater than the parts. For all the logical breakdowns (wink), the plot devices keep the tension red-lined and they lead to a lot of really fun scenes. If you thought the first half of the River Wild was unnecessary exposition and needed the truck from Maximum Overdrive, then this movie might be for you. Arbitrary rating: A ham-fisted thriller straight to the jaw. I give it a 7.
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November 2020
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