Directed by:
Martin BrestScreenplay:
George GalloCinematography:
Donald E. ThorinComposer:
Danny ElfmanCast:
Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Foronjy, Robert Miranda, Jack Kehoe, Wendy Phillips (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Jack Walsh (De Niro) is a cynical ex-cop turned bounty hunter who is offered $100,000 to bring Jonathan "the Duke" Mardukas (Grodin) to justice. Jonathan is a sensitive accountant who embezzled from the mob, gave the money to charity, and jumped bail. Jack begins what he believes will be a relatively standard trip with his prisoner from New York to Los Angeles until he learns that Jonathan owes 15 million dollars to mobster Jimmy Serrano (Farina), who has put a hit out on the neurotic and wimpy accountant and will stop at nothing to capture the wanted man. To complicate matters, the FBI is also after the accountant to testify against the mob. The two unlikely partners suffer a hysterical trip via plane, train, and car as they attempt to outrun Jonathan's enemies, forced to endure many outrageous twists and turns as a bickering team. (Shock Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
A decent crime comedy from the late 80s, with a somewhat dragged-out runtime that results in duller moments throughout the film. The screenplay is fairly simple, but Robert De Niro's acting saves it to a certain extent. Overall impression: 70%.
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I like films about seemingly unimaginable friendships, even though Hollywood has produced many of them and will surely produce many more. Midnight Run, on top of that, has a huge advantage in the cast: De Niro is one of the best actors ever and Grodin fits his role to a tee; and then there is the director, Brest, who already proved with Beverly Hills Cop that he has no problem combining humour and action. It's not a perfect piece of work, I didn't shed tears of laughter and I didn't swallow every sentence, but it's a torrent of smart, unobtrusive and straightforward entertainment, the kind that you can hardly find anywhere nowadays. And if I remember correctly, the female character was only given space in one single scene, which is a rarely seen, but absolutely brilliant move that had a big impact on the final result.
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