Tight, tense, effective thriller. Nothing really unique, but everybody is good in it.

Holy shit this movie is amazing. It gets cooking right off the bat and does not stop. The stunts and actual practical effects in this are so unbelievable! Usually a movie like this builds to a dumb or disappointing climax but this just keeps taking it up a notch. Such a great movie!!!!!

I'm not trying to brag here, but I usually do a decent job of ignoring movies that I believe will make me just shrug my shoulders. It's not hard to see that "Breakdown" is going to be predictable. It's about a husband and wife. They are in the desert, their truck breaks down, and she goes missing. Standard, standard stuff. To this end, I was absolutely correct. What I did not realize is how well this movie ratchets up the tension and suspense. Kurt Russell is one of my favorite actors, especially his John Carpenter related flicks and there's just something about Kathleen Quinlan. I'm a big "Twilight Zone" fan, and her starring role as Helen Foley in the "It's a Good Life" segment of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" was eye-catching. Also, the desert scenes are beautiful and the early moments show us the desolation with wide shots of the immense landscape. The bad guys are so bad and there are many moments when Russell's character is up against the wall. He seemingly has no options. No way to escape. But he transforms into an action hero before our eyes. He pretty much goes Macgyver and by the end of this, the bad guys are gonna be toast. This movie is almost 20 years old. Again, I have a little bit of movie snob in me and if I think something is standard mainstream movie fare, I will scoff at it a little. Well, you have probably seen movies like this many times before, but this is one of the best thrillers that I have seen. By the end, my heart was actually pounding and I was on the edge of my couch. Embarrassingly typical, but it's true. I immediately felt the need to tell my family to get on it and watch "Breakdown".

Breakdown is a great, 90s thriller that sets the hook early and builds to an exciting conclusion. The premise is simple, and it stays grounded relative to many action movies of the same period. Kurt Russell carries the story with an increasingly desperate performance. He’s a regular guy forced into a situation he can’t control, and the film wisely lets his panic build without ever turning him into something he’s not. J.T. Walsh is shockingly effective, given his calm, polite, and quietly threatening demeanor. Breakdown is built to move, not to linger. It knows what it is, and it plays to its strengths.

Pure adrenaline rush…once you get past the opening 2.5 minutes of credits that seem like 2.5 hours. Sheesh. Apart from that minor inconvenience, though, this was a hidden gem that I learned about earlier today and wow, what a film. The scary thing about movies like these (similar to Russell Crowe's 2020 movie _Unhinged_ ) is that they're based on events that could happen on any given day to anyone…including yourself. Not going to give away any spoilers but I give this high marks. Yes, it has its moments that are - by any rational mind - ludicrous but the adrenaline rush is well worth it. Kurt Russell was Kurt Russell (and that's a good thing!) and I have no idea who this J.T. Walsh is but boy did he pull off his part beautifully. Great story, great movie. Highly recommend it!