Film Review
Robert De Niro's most successful attempt at a comedy to date,
Midnight Run effortlessly blends
together several popular genres - road movie, buddy movie, action film,
gangster thriller - and the result is easily one of the most satisfying
action comedies of the 1980s. De Niro is on cracking form as he
delivers a subtle but astute parody of his former tough guy roles, and
the chemistry between him and his co-star Charles Grodin is so perfect
that you wish you could bottle it. Martin Brest, whose other hits
include
Beverly Hills Cop
(1984) and
Scent of a Woman
(1992), directs the film with unflagging energy and flair, and there
isn't a single dull moment in the film's generous two hour runtime.
The plot may be a tad formulaic, most of the secondary
characters may be no more than two-dimensional caricatures, but this
hardly matters, such is the gusto and panache with which Brest drives
the film along, the meat and soul of the film existing primarily in the
developing rapport between the two central protagonists. There is
a genuine warmth to De Niro and Charles Grodin's portrayals and,
despite the chalk and cheese nature of their characters, you genuinely
believe in the friendship that grows in the course of their wild
escapade as they cross America by practically every form of transport
available to them. After its frantic roller-coaster
peregrinations, the film's touching ending takes you by surprise and
leaves you longing for a sequel. A quarter of century on, it
looks as if that sequel may become a reality, with De Niro apparently
signed up to reprise his role under the direction of Brett
Ratner.
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
One-time cop Jack Walsh has turned bounty hunter after a run-in with
Los Angeles mobster Jimmy Serrano, which robbed him of his career and
his family. Now he works for bail bondsman Eddie Moscone, who
offers him 100,000 dollars to bring in Jonathan Mardukas, a whiz
accountant who embezzled several million dollars whilst working for
Serrano. The FBI also want to get their hands on Mardukas, so
that he can testify against his former employer. Understandably,
Serrano has no desire to spend the rest of his days in prison, so he
sends his trigger-happy henchmen out to kill Mardukas. Finding
Mardukas is the easy part of the operation. Getting him from New
York to Los Angeles is more difficult. When Mardukas says he has
a phobia of flying, Walsh has no option but to continue their journey
by train and by road. This change of plan prompts Moscone to send
another bounty hunter after them both. Pursued by the FBI,
Serrano's hired thugs and a rival bounty hunter who has absolutely no
scruples, Walsh has his work cut out for him...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.