While this movie is far from new, it is a new addition in my region for Netflix and Kurt Russel is one of those guys that sometimes does great things so I figured I'd give it a go. There may be some spoilers ahead so as a summary I'll just say that this is an action thriller film that I recommend for some easy watching. It is one of those films that you don't need to pay full attention to and still get a lot out of it.
There are a lot of films called Breakdown and there are actually 2 of them on my region's Netflix offerings at the moment so make sure to watch the one with Kurt Russel from 1997. The other one is from 2016 and stars a bunch of people that I have never heard of and have not watched but now feel as though I almost have to in order to see which one is better.
I suspect it will be the one with Kurt Russel.
Potential spoilers ahead
Jeff (Kurt Russel) and Amy Taylor are traveling across the country from Boston to San Diego to relocate for some reason that is not relevant to the plot. They are clearly "city slickers" and find themselves with car trouble in the middle of nowhere in I think it was New Mexico? It doesn't really matter where it is, the point is that these city folk are truly out of their element and suddenly find themselves being "helped" by some locals who appear at first to be good Samaritans but actually have a devious plan in store for them.
Jeff allows his wife to carry on with what appears to be a helpful truck driver under the assumption that he is going to drop her off at a cafe a few miles up the road so that she can call a tow truck while Jeff waits at the Jeep. This part of the story is a little bit silly because logic would dictate that there is no reason for one of them to stay with the Jeep but I suppose the entire story depends on it.
Amy doesn't return and as time goes by Jeff goes to the cafe only to discover that she was never there according to the staff inside. On his way outside he meets a guy who is pretending to be mentally limited that helps him out with some information about where his wife has gone. The trap has been set at this point.
Jeff eventually catches back up with the truck driver who gave his wife a ride but is unable to convince police that his side of the story is true and he has to take matters into his own hands. Turns out that the truck driver is the leader of a criminal gang that kidnaps and steals money from people just like him and his wife and then disposes of their bodies and belongings, which is something you discover later on in the story.
This film is good even though it kind of follows a pretty predictable path in the story because the cinemetography and acting on almost everyone's part is above average and even quite good. This is especially true with Kurt Russel and J. T. Walsh, who plays the part of "Red" who is the truck driver and leader of the kidnapping gang.
For me, it was a bit reminiscent of The Vanishing with Kiefer Sutherland playing the role of "Jeff" and Jeff Bridges in the role of "Red." I will say that I think The Vanishing is the better film of the two but unfortunately is not available on Netflix at the moment.
This was towards the end of the time where every movie trailer had to be narrated by a guy with a deep voice
Should I watch it?
I enjoyed it a great deal because even though it does have a predictable outcome a lot of the things that happen along the way are quite surprising and the action is filmed very well, especially in this one particular scene where Russel is hanging off the bottom of a moving truck - sure, this is almost certainly a stunt double but it is still done extremely well. After marketing costs, this film barely made a profit at the cinemas and that is probably why I didn't even know it existed until 2 days ago - plus, I had other things going on in 1997 like college and girls. Sheesh, that was 25 years ago... now I feel old!
I think that most people will find this entertaining and fun and it is one of those films that you can have on in the background and not have to watch fully in order to get the full experience. Sometimes I like these kinds of films and I think most other people will as well.
