It really has no business being anything more than a decent late night watch on cable.
It’s a manhunt movie directed by Andrew Davis.
Yet somehow, it is one of the greatest action movies ever made.
Tommy Lee Jones gets much of the credit for this movie elevating itself to becoming a Best Picture nominee.
That’s absolutely fair as he is terrific and deserving of the Supporting Actor Oscar he won.
But, don’t lose sight of the amazing job Harrison Ford does here.
Ford taking the movie so seriously gives it such huge stakes.
This is like when Marisa Tomei won for My Cousin Vinny a year earlier.
Both were in genres (action and comedy) that are usually ignored by Oscar voters.
They of course, went right back to ignoring these genres but this was a nice little blip.
Rewatching this for the blog, I was asking myself “why is this SO good?”
Obviously the acting which I mentioned is fantastic.
The script is smart and strong but it’s not revolutionary.
I think what sets this apart is how this movie moves.
The pacing is somehow breakneck but never feels rushed.
All of that in just the first 40 minutes!
It’s also remarkable how well this movie has aged.
I watched this again this week over 30 years later and was still widely entertained.
It’s the greatest action movie of the decade.
The Truman Show
16.
There’s Something About Mary
20.
Schindler’s List
22.
Saving Private Ryan
25.
Dumb & Dumber
27.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
31.
Out Of Sight
36.
Carlito’s Way
37.
Wayne’s World
45.
Back To The Future Part III
47.
A Bronx Tale
48.
The People Vs. Larry Flynt
49.
Eyes Wide Shut
50.
The Green Mile
54.
Man On The Moon
55.
Boyz N The Hood
56.
Grosse Pointe Blank
57.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
63.
The Usual Suspects
65.
In The Line Of Fire
66.
My Cousin Vinny
67.
The River Wild
79.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
Stir Of Echoes
82.
Mission: Impossible
83.
For Love Of The Game
86.
Being John Malkovich
87.
Men In Black
88.
Glengarry Glen Ross
92.
Die Hard With A Vengeance
93.
The Blair Witch Project
94.
Any Given Sunday
99.
The Wedding Singer
100.
