A murdered wife. A one-armed man. An obsessed detective. The chase begins.

Every other review for The Fugitive talks at great length about the similarities between this movie and the 1960’s series of the same name. However, I wasn’t born then and couldn’t care less. To be honest, nor should you. The Fugitive stands perfectly well in its own right and is one of the few films that demands a sequel (not to continue the story, which is all wrapped up very nicely thank you, but to bring back some of the juiciest characters).

Harrison Ford plays Dr Richard Kimble, a ridiculously bearded surgeon of great esteem. One night after a party, he returns home to find his wife murdered. Whilst trying to revive her, he realises that her attacker is still in the house. There is a fleeting struggle during which he realises his attacker has a mechanical arm, but the man escapes.

To his dismay, Kimble finds himself accuses of her murder (damn that circumstantial evidence). He is tried and convicted of her first-degree murder. At the same time I would have added an extra three or four years hard labour for wearing a silly beard but they seem to miss that. Luckily for Kimble (and us) there is an accident in the bus on the way to his incarceration. Even better for us (less good for Kimble) it is the kind of normal every-day accident that has knives and guns and high-speed trains. Kimble manages to save the day and escape into the bargain. What a hero!

Unfortunately, the authorities do not share in our view of the good Doctor and launch a massive manhunt to get him back. Deputy US Marshall Sam Gerard, played admirably by Tommy Lee Jones leads the hunt. Gerard is without doubt, the best character in the movie. Whilst I accept that Harrison Ford can do no wrong, in this case I am afraid that it is Jones who stands out. He is emotionless, driven, purposeful and at times, even funny. His team works like clockwork. He asks, he gets. He wants, he gets. You want to see more and more of him and his team. Every time they appear they seem to get better. Damn, these guys are good. Can’t catch Dr Kimble though. (Nah na nah na-na).The chemistry between Ford and Jones grows more charged by the moment. This is excellent stuff. I haven’t seen the sequel (US Marshals) yet, but be certain that its top of my list.

The movie has several action high’s (including the famous dam dive, now copied many times) but manages to balance these out with a reasonably well thought story. Unfortunately the end of the story is so well thought that the final resolution is perhaps too complicated. Not so much peeling back the onion like layers of the plot as getting the onion right in your face. This is not a problem unique to this movie but common to many others of the genre. In this particular instance the basic concept of a hunted innocent man would have been enough, without us being party to a bitty plot exposition as we join Kimble in his realisation of what has really happened.

In Kimble, Ford manages to portray a character who really is whiter than white. For someone who is such a clean and decent individual, he manages to stay away from the best of America’s lawmen with seeming ease. It is almost a surprise that anyone could believe that such a nice guy was guilty in the first place. Here we have an action film with a heart. This movie isn’t just chases and explosions for the sake of it. That said, the whole film is really one big chase – and what a chase it is ! The movie has a good beginning and middle and then the end is just right. Three out of three – cool huh ?

The sound on this DVD is excellent. A great deal of time and effort has been spent in the remastering process and it really shows here. The video is good and clean. This is not the most edge of your seat drama, or the most lead filled action film you will see but nonetheless its definitely one for the collection.