Paramount Presents: Breakdown review by Bobby Blakey
I don’t think Kurt Russell gets enough credit as an action star. Through the 80s and 90s especially he churned out fun action flicks like Escape From New York, Tango & Cash, Soldier, Stargate and of course the iconic Big Trouble In Little China to name a few. In 1997 he teamed up with director Jonathan Mostow for Breakdown co-starring Kathleen Quinlan, J.T. Walsh, M.C. Gainey and Rex Linn. Now the film is getting an all-new release through the Paramount Presents collection, but does it hold up or will it be stuck on the side of the road?
Breakdown follows Jeff Taylor, headed toward a new life in California with his wife Amy. When their car dies on a remote highway, a seemingly helpful trucker (J.T. Walsh) offers Amy a ride to the local diner while Jeff waits with the car. Then Jeff discovers his vehicle was deliberately tampered with, and by the time he gets to the next town, his worst fears are about to come true.
I always love revisiting films like this that I saw and loved when they were released to see if they hold up. Thankfully this one does quite well. This is one of those films that offers up everything you could want in an action thriller. The cast are great with the always awesome Gainey and Walsh the perfect duo to take on Russell. Not going to give a lot of the movie away despite it being older but it’s not overly complicated. The fun is the action and how they work it altogether as he tries to figure out a way out of this chaos.
It’s a pretty generic entry into this genre, but one I think holds up well. We just don’t get enough Russell these days so it’s nice to be able to revisit this fun flicks. This release not only includes the film, but also new bonus content including trailers, alternate opening, commentary, featurettes and more.
Grab your copy of Paramount Presents: Breakdown available now from Paramount Home Entertainment.