Midnight Run

Directed by Martin Brest, Midnight Run follows bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) as he agrees to find and transport Charles Grodin’s Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas, on the lam after stealing money from the mob, back to Los Angeles – with the seemingly simple journey complicated by repeated interference by a variety of outside figures. Filmmaker Brest, working from George Gallo’s screenplay, delivers a thoroughly entertaining endeavor that benefits substantially from the top-tier work of its actors, with De Niro and Grodin’s engrossing, consistently captivating efforts here heightened by the palpable chemistry between their respective characters. (And it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Brest has packed the movie’s supporting cast with such stellar performers as Dennis Farina, Yaphet Kotto, and Joe Pantoliano.) The episodic nature of Midnight Run’s midsection admittedly does result in a somewhat uneven atmosphere, however, as certain segments ultimately wind up faring much better than others. (There is, for example, a sequence aboard a freight train that feels as though it could’ve easily been excised.) This is an awfully minor complaint for an endeavor that’s mostly overflowing with pleasures, and it’s clear, too, that the movie’s climax is far more thrilling and tense than one might’ve anticipated – with the end result a justifiably iconic buddy picture that’s often as funny as it is exciting.

***1/2 out of ****