People are voting emotionally.

Must See Movie...

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

On the surface this movie is a thriller. Kurt Russell is the everyman Jeff Taylor. Kathleen Quinlan plays his wife Amy and she has little screen time. J.T. Walsh, as always, shines in his role as the bad bad man. The story plays out how you anticipate it will and it has a lot of fun along the way. This movie is also an allegory for how poor decision making and losing sight of what's important can jeopardize one's marriage. Consider the fact that in the beginning of the film Jeff and Amy are reflecting on their journey from Massachusetts to San Diego, their financial difficulties, and their regret that they spent so much money on their car, a loaded SUV. Due to Jeff's inattentiveness a series of unfortunate events unfolds. At the critical juncture in the film, when their car breaks down and they are offered a ride, Jeff decides to stay with the car while his wife gets in the truck with the samaritan. The rest of the movie follows Jeff as he fights like hell to save his wife and his marriage. Along the way, he loses the car and all his money but rediscovers what's really important. The moral? Keep your eyes on the road and stick by your wife :)

Once upon a time "Breakdown" would have been considered nothing more than a B-Movie but the kind of B-Movie that might have gone on to become a classic. It's a very simple little suspense movie and it's beautifully directed by Jonathan Mostow. It's also something of a road-movie which, like Spielberg's "Duel" generates a good deal of suspense from its use of great open spaces and the interplay between a guy in a car (Kurt Russell) and a guy in a truck (J. T. Walsh). Russell is perfect as the slightly arrogant hero and Walsh is suitably menacing as the guy who may or may not be behind the disappearence of Russell's wife. Cult movie status beckons.

This is the film that showcases director Jonathan Mostow's talent. Unfortunately, since this film his work has never come as close to this film in terms of overall quality.The plot is fairly straightforward but is well executed and focuses on the Jeff Taylor character, brilliantly played as an everyman by Kurt Russell. He conveys there characters descent into desperation and terror very well – to a point where forces that start manipulating his character cause something in him to snap and his character finds an untapped source of courage – being driven by an unstoppable urge to find a loved one. Russell charts this character journey well, yet the fear never leaves his character – he just evolves to handle it within the extraordinary situation he finds himself in. Other performances are solid, particularly the late J.T Walsh as the main protagonist and Rex Linn as an empathic sheriff. Director Jonathon Mostow has an effective and sophisticated take on the filmmaking. He develops the story gradually, allow the suspense and pace to continually build up throughout the film. Technical credits are solid, including editing and Douglas Milsome's excellent photography. The growing tension and dread builds up brilliantly throughout the film, leading to an excellent action oriented climax and a coda that is reminiscent of early 70's US movie-making. Overall simple but a brilliantly executed movie.

Jeff & Amy Taylor are on a cross-country road trip, moving from Michigan to California, when their car suddenly breaks down on a remote stretch of highway. When a trucker, "Red" Barr, stops to offer some help, Amy goes with Red to the closest town to phone for a tow truck. Some hours pass and when there's still no sign of a tow truck or Amy, Jeff becomes concerned, so after managing to finally get the car to get going again, he travels to where he was supposed to meet his wife but there is no sign of her. Out on the road again, Jeff comes across the same trucker that was supposed to help the couple, but the driver denies that he's ever seen him before. Adamant to find out what has happened to his wife, Jeff finds himself being caught up in a deadly game for survival and a race against time to find his wife.Breakdown is a classic example of a really good, cat-and-mouse action/thriller that doesn't fail to deliver with good performances from both Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh. Russell brings a nice believability to his character that he's just a normal guy (and doesn't have any ex-forces or martial arts training that so many of these types of movies have for their main "good guy") who's desperate to find his wife, and Walsh is just classic J.T. Walsh in playing a guy you just love to hate.The story, while being a wee bit predictable in a couple of places, has enough twists and turns to keep your interest and to keep you guessing as to what will happen next for the most part. The film is also not lacking in suspense or tension either. Does it keep you on the edge of your seat? Well, I guess that depends on how much suspense you need in a film for that to happen, but for me there's more than enough here for the majority of viewers to feel a decent level of tension.Mix this with the very believable performances from Russell and Walsh and you have yourself a really good thriller with a nice amount of action. I definitely recommend giving this movie a go.