When putting together the list of movies for this project, this came as a surprise. I remembered it as good, but Best Picture quality? Really? Well, that's one of the reasons for this thing, to revisit movies and see how they stack up both against time and each other. The FP Fiance hadn't seen this one yet, so I got to get her opinion as an unseen film.
Harrison Ford stars as a surgeon falsely accused and convicted of killing his wife, played by the very attractive Sela Ward. He claims a one-armed man is the real killer but no one believes him. An fortunate series of events, including a very cool train wreck, free him to try and clear his name. In a faliure to anticipate OJ, he doesn't search at even one golf course.
Tommy Lee Jones really steals this movie, though. He plays a US Marshal who is tasked with finding the escapee. His mixture of wise-cracking, tenacious and tough sells quite well.
The movie is well told but whiffs in a couple of areas. The motive for the killing is unconvincing at best. Does anyone really think that pharmaceutical companies are really that evil? Faking tests to get initial approval might work, but the ensuing law suits when the product that hits the real world would be crippling. Better to just scrap this drug or tinker with it so it would be better.
The other problem I had is that the main theme to the movie sounds just like the opening to 'Hit the Road Jack'. Distracting. In a weird bit of synchronicity, I saw a documentary on landslides the next day that used this score.
In all, I thought the movie was good, but not great. The FP Fiance thought about the same.
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