The Fugitive
I'm still ill. I felt pretty yucky this morning, but went into work anyway, and actually got a lot done. But if I don't feel better tomorrow, I'm gonna stay home. I think I've pushed my luck far enough, and I definitely want to be well for Windycon.
Why didn't I just stay home when I first got sick? Well, because I had things I wanted to do Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening... and also because I have this weirdly developed conscience when it comes to staying home from work. It takes a lot for me to decide to stay home.
I think the thing that most impressed me about this film is that it wasn't a "big production", a special effects extravaganza as many modern "chase" films are. There are no big explosions, and very few cheap thrills. True, Gerard is perhaps a little too lucky (or too insightful) in being able to trail Kimble, but the balance between the two main characters' struggle - when both of them are the good guys - is pretty effective.
The eerie music score is also a major factor. I'm a big believer that great music can lift a dramatic movie or TV show to the next level. It was a big part of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and was a big non-factor in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's also a major part of why the original version of the Babylon 5 pilot "The Gathering" worked better than the recut version, despite the erratic pacing: Stewart Copeland's music is more dramatic and compelling than Christopher Franke's.
Franke is really very hit-and-miss; some of his music is very effective, but he seems resist really working in his better melodies into his incidental music. This is a strong contrast to some older TV shows which actually had great incidental music, such as the original Star Trek, and of course Laurie Johnson's terrific score for both series of The Avengers. Even his main title music is erratic: The fifth season theme is great, while the fourth season's was a hopeless muddle.
But I digress.
Ford's performance in The Fugitive is quite low-key, reminding me of no one so much as Kevin Costner (although Ford is a far better actor than Costner). Ford's more recent roles all seem to be very low-key, with his characters being haunted and/or hunted. As a consequence of this, Tommy Lee Jones' lawman essentially steals the film from Ford, getting the better lines and having foils to play his sense of humor off of.
Needless to say, the Fugitive is a suspense and adventure film, and it's short on character. But who cares? For what it is, it's quite good.
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