popcorninhell Now here's a film that won't win any awards. It won't lend itself to overly complicated interpretation or be remembered for anything iconic. It's wholly second-rate as far as plot and character dynamics and it resoundingly breaks the unwritten rule of referencing better films. Yet despite all this, Breakdown is a thing of unappreciated greatness. It's a hidden gem of tone, tension and tomfoolery finding the nerve, gut-instinct and popcorny-ness that looks like it was conjured from the mind of Lee in the play "True West."The plot reads like something out of a John Lemay novel. Jeff (Russell) and Amy (Quinlan) are driving through the desert in their Jeep cross-country. They breakdown on the side of the road where big rig trucker Red (Walsh) offers assistance. Amy leaves with Red to call for a tow while Jeff stays with the Jeep. Hours go by, Jeff checks the car and finds the battery has been tampered with and begins to suspect something is seriously wrong. From there the movie becomes a thriller stitched together by a ransom Jeff can't afford and handled by a group of menacing back-road truckers.Breakdown was produced by the legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis who in addition to spearheading the Italian film renaissance also had a penchant for the fanciful, the scintillating and the obscure. Projects like Flash Gordon (1980), King Kong (1976) and Dune (1984) prove that even at his worst De Laurentiis was a risk-taker; one who appreciated bold ideas.For a relatively small movie made at the dusk of De Laurentiis's career, Breakdown is certainly a bold movie. It moves briskly through its plot, leaving little time for the audience to internalize the ridiculousness of the story while gleefully enjoying some fun action visuals. When the movie does slowdown enough to take a breather, it's surgical in its ability to create truly suspenseful cinematic moments. These moments approach the grandeur of Chinatown's (1974) "The future" scene made less memorable only because there are no iconic lines and, as I said, the plot is patently ridiculous.Yet it was the memory of our lead, getting the jump on Red's lacky Earl (Gainley) and the scene with Red's family is confronted with a pistol wielding Kurt Russell that brought me back to revisit this film years later. While similar "criminal trucker" films of the era like Black Dog (1998) and Joy Ride (2001) were solid in their own right, Breakdown is the only one that really sticks. When you see Russell straight-up dominating experienced truckers on the road via heavily armed car chase, I'm sure you'll agree.

jtest_kkc Warning: There is a small spoiler in here.This movie is total junk based on what the whole story is constructed on. Basically the direction, acting flow is all alright, not classless.One has to wonder who in the right mind would allow his wife to seek help the way she does in that story. Really? Kurt Russell is a smart capable fellow with that kind of common sense to allow his wife to ride with a trucker in the middle of nowhere? If anyone is even thinking this is insulting.Junk, I do not care how much better the rest of it is. There were many better ways to kick start the plot.

David Arnold Jeff & Amy Taylor are on a cross-country road trip, moving from Michigan to California, when their car suddenly breaks down on a remote stretch of highway. When a trucker, "Red" Barr, stops to offer some help, Amy goes with Red to the closest town to phone for a tow truck. Some hours pass and when there's still no sign of a tow truck or Amy, Jeff becomes concerned, so after managing to finally get the car to get going again, he travels to where he was supposed to meet his wife but there is no sign of her. Out on the road again, Jeff comes across the same trucker that was supposed to help the couple, but the driver denies that he's ever seen him before. Adamant to find out what has happened to his wife, Jeff finds himself being caught up in a deadly game for survival and a race against time to find his wife.Breakdown is a classic example of a really good, cat-and-mouse action/thriller that doesn't fail to deliver with good performances from both Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh. Russell brings a nice believability to his character that he's just a normal guy (and doesn't have any ex-forces or martial arts training that so many of these types of movies have for their main "good guy") who's desperate to find his wife, and Walsh is just classic J.T. Walsh in playing a guy you just love to hate.The story, while being a wee bit predictable in a couple of places, has enough twists and turns to keep your interest and to keep you guessing as to what will happen next for the most part. The film is also not lacking in suspense or tension either. Does it keep you on the edge of your seat? Well, I guess that depends on how much suspense you need in a film for that to happen, but for me there's more than enough here for the majority of viewers to feel a decent level of tension.Mix this with the very believable performances from Russell and Walsh and you have yourself a really good thriller with a nice amount of action. I definitely recommend giving this movie a go.

juneebuggy The first hour of this is pretty good, then you just have to shut off your brain and enjoy the ride as things get silly. I definitely felt the suspense, frustration and fear of Kurt Russell's character after his car breaks down in the desert and the trucker that gave his wife a ride to a diner later claims not to have ever seen her.A decent mystery, good road trip movie on desolate highways filled with crazy redneck bad guys who seem to have come up with a pretty intricate kidnapping/heist plan for some not so smart guys. Kurt Russell pulls off some decent stunts involving big-rigs and fancy driving especially in the final showdown on the bridge. Reminded me of that other mid 90's movie The Vanishing where the girlfriend disappears from a gas station bathroom. 8/24/14