Hidden Gem: Breakdown (97) Kurt Russell (1 Viewer)

[MatS]

just saw this movie tonight on Showtime flipping though the channels
wasn't expecting much at the begining and usually I would likely flip past a movie of this kind (thinking it to just be an action movie) but I just couldn't turn it off

what a great rollercoaster ride

 

[Matt Stone]

It's a classic...well, at least in my eyes

 

[Ryan Wishton]

This movie could have been great, but falls short...

The first 30 minutes are entertaining and very good IMO... After that, the movie is ok, but does not live up to the set up...

I also thought the ending was a little weak and by the numbers...

This is one of those movies to me that would have made for an excellent 30 minute short story...

Then again, I enjoy suspense type movies, so that could explain why I liked the first 30 minutes the best...

 

[Alex Spindler]

I really enjoyed this movie back when I first saw it. Not only did Russell play the frantic husband to the hilt, but the movie managed to ratchet up the suspense throughout to keep me engaged in it. And it topped it all of with a some well staged vehicular mayhem.

It was also, unfortunately, one of the last roles that J.T. Walsh had.

 

[James T]

I liked it. When it was in theaters, me and a couple of my friends were deciding which movie to watch. Speed 2 won the majority over Breakdown. A month later, it went to the "dollar cinema", the cheap theater where movies arrive a couple months before video. The person who wanted to see Breakdown the first time will always bring this up whenever we suggest a movie.

 

[Richard Travale]

This is a movie that I always watch when it's on TV.

 

[Robert Anthony]

I worked at the dirt theater in Salem Oregon when this movie came out, and it was buried on our screens. Didn't get a real shot at a substantial audience. Every now and again real gems that were never really given a chance were dumped there, and I remember running the movie thursday night before opening to check for scratches and flaws in the print, and being mildly surprised that we actually got something of this quality. Jonathan Mostow's first movie, right? I wouldn't HIGHLY recommend it, but it's a pretty good movie.

other movies that studios and Regal Cinemas buried at our theater, thinking they wouldn't go anywhere? "Beavis and Butthead Do America" and "Scream"

They took both those movies away from us after the 2nd week.

 

[Paul_Medenwaldt]

The first viewing of Breakdown is intense, but after repeated viewings, it just doesn't hold up well. Like noted in an earlier post, after the 30 minute mark there are a lot of silly things that happen throughout the rest of the movie that at times give me a chuckle.

Paul

 

[BrianBo]

This movie has as much replay value as any movie that I've ever seen. Looked nice on HD last night.

 

[Rob P S]

A great action drama that reminds me how much I miss J.T. Walsh (nice touch to give his character a wife and child instead of just making him a stock villain), and how underrated Kurt Russell is. One of the pictures in Kathleen Quinlan's brief career revival of the mid-90's (though she doesn't do much here, and sadly hasn't been seen much since).

 

[Mike Graham]

The tension when Russell's character confronts J.T. Walsh in front of his own family was executed perfectly. The build up that leads into the sequence is very well done too. However, the movie collapses once it kicks into a cliched car chase at the end.

 

[Bill Clark]

It is a great film. I'm actually preparing to write a paper on it for one of my college film noir classes. I've seen it at least ten times since it first debuted in 1997.

 

[Matt Butler]

This is a movie i would own if it was anamorphic.

 

[Ricardo C]

Great, great film. Deserved much more recognition than it's gotten. Russell was great, but Walsh stole the show.

 

[chris winters]

i loved the movie all the way until maybe the last 20 minutes or so when I feel it finally goes over the top and enters mad max territory. It is still a good film, just the dumbed down action cliche ending complete with final one liner was too much silliness. The rest of the movie deserved better. I put this into the same category as another kurt russel vehicle of around the same time, executive decision. I have similar raves and complaints about both. Both are underated, have great casts, benifit from solid, professional direction, and end up suffering from a lame holiwood action,wimp-out ending. A strange phase of russels carear. two triples that could have been solid home runs.

 

[chris winters]

I know the exact moment when break down goes bad. It starts just after russel kicks jt walsh through the trapdoor and down the ladder. A great moment of release for the audience, and russel himself who has suffered so much by this point. Starting right after that moment, however, and for the rest of the movie is when it all goes sadly wrong.

 

[chris winters]

another side note there is a scene when russel is in the bank, and on the desk is a computer monitor that is very obviously not plugged into anything. In fact it has no cords coming off the back at all. I see this and laugh a little everytime I watch the movie. just one of those things I noticed once and now seem to always spot it.