Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Midnight Run - 1988 - 3½ Stars

Actors: Robert Deniro, Charles Grodin
Director: Martin Brest

It's the 80's! Where Charles Grodin can get second billing, and Yaphet Kotto can get third billing, where a breezy, annoying Danny Elfman soundtrack conveys whimsy even during the darkest moments, where plots about estranged wives and children get thrown into a mismatched buddy road movie, and where smoking was still allowed in restaurants, airports, and on planes.

Midnight Run is overstuffed, to be sure. I don't know this, I am only speculating, but Midnight Run feels like one of those first-time scripts that someone finds at the bottom of a pile and says 'This would make a great picture!' And somehow it gets made with DeNiro attached to it and a huge budget.

All in all, it's an entertaining film, with fun set pieces, good character actors, and DeNiro puts an A effort into B material. Still, there's no excuse for this film to be 125 minutes long.

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