Breakdown - Point de rupture

Whereas in its time Breakdown was seen by many people as just another run-of-the-mill “American” movie, the merits of this precisely constructed thriller have become more apparent with the passage of time. Unlike those truly mediocre flicks that haven’t stood the test of time (such as Joshua Tree with Lundgren, which has a similar plot), Mostow's desert movie still works well. This is due to the overarching tendency toward simplicity, which is reflected not only in the individual twists, and especially to the concept of the central protagonist, who combines the best of the tenacious, masculine heroes along the lines of John McClane with ordinary, witty, likeable guys dealing with situations on the fly in the manner of Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. Kurt Russell perfectly embodies this duality by showing all of the aspects of an unnerved character in his acting. In addition to that, he performs most of the action feats himself, which aids the believability of the individual sequences. Despite all of that, however, Breakdown still remains sufficiently formulaic that it works as a standard genre movie with all of its attractions and delights. It’s also pleasing due to the various minor yet adequate deviations that make it more than just an average spectacle with well-built suspense. (27/12/2022)

A piece of excellently executed work, with a tiny budget, only a few actors, an unconventional setting, and a strongly innovative approach to the topic, which at first glance may seem cliché and incapable of bringing anything new, but it's different, and it's not just the work of the director. Strikingly, Kurt Russell plays a significant role here and delivers one of the highlights of his career. The plot is simple, but it goes far beyond that. What is most fascinating is the dose of reality and the “emergency situation solutions”. This means what the main character should do when he has absolutely no idea what to do. He can't follow precise tasks, procedures, and guidelines because there simply aren't any. Russell is just an ordinary guy who has lost his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to get her back, he just doesn't know where to look or what actually happened. Of course, there have to be some clues, so we witness a few stumbling blocks. Also, the action scenes are not breathtaking, but the ending in the barn is truly fantastic. A relatively minimalist and unpretentious thriller that is unjustly overlooked. (26/03/2007)