Switchback

Definitely a Good suspense/thriller........should have been rated nearer to an 8 to an 8.5 rating. Danny Glover does an excellent acting job. There are enough turns and twists in the plot to keep one's interests all the way through the movie, in my opinion.

As a thriller, this had some holes. For starters, Stuart identifies the killer too early (at least, I figured it out), so some tension is robbed). The postcard thing never really made any sense to me. And though it's clear who the killer is, his identity raises questions about how Quaid's son is kept without the authorities knowing. But I can forgive a lot of that because we care about the characters. Quaid, Ermey, and Glover, are three of our finest character actors, and they make us interested in their characters. Also, Ted Levine offers fine support, and Jared Leto creates mystery in his role when there wasn't a whole lot written in.

I liked just about every aspect of this movie. The local police aren't portrayed as a bunch of inbred idiots, the killer isn't portrayed as maniacal and impersonable, and the FBI agent isn't just a suit with all the personality of a tube of toothpaste. All of these combine to make a refreshing murder mystery/thriller. This isn't the classic "who dun it?" type of murder mystery; rather, it is more in the flavor of "Silence of the Lambs", where we discover who the killer is long before the end of the movie, and the suspense comes from anticipating the hero catching the villain.

I was surprised by this film quite a bit. I thought it would be another mediocre paint-by-the-number genre piece. To my amazement Switchback is a taut and suspenseful film. Its fun to see Danny Glover cast against type. By no means a masterpiece, but well worth watching by thriller fans

Switchback is one of my favourite 'serial killer vs. cop' thrillers of the 90's, and has seemingly slipped through the cracks these days. It has a special place in my heart, because as a kid my father would take me to his office at work, where I would catch a lot of cool movies on what was back then called 'TBS Superstation'. I once saw a few quick moments of this one, and wondered for years what film it was. A couple years back I tracked this one down because it stars a bunch of actors I really like, and was pleasantly surprised to have my childhood memory jogged, and finally find out what movie I had seen. It's got a solid, able bodied cast that's speckled with both prominent, square jawed leading dudes and some salty character actors as well, to spice things up. The film starts off as jovial Bob Goodall (Danny Glover) picks up mysterious hitchhiker Lane Dixon (Jared Leto) somewhere in the remote northwest. The two strike up a rapport, but we know that one or both will ultimately figure in the other half of the story, where things get decidedly sinister. Many miles away in another state, renegade FBI agent Frank Lacrosse (Dennis Quaid, turning off his smiling charm a quiet, smouldering turn as a guy at the end of his rope) searches for his infant son, who was kidnapped several years before by a dangerous serial killer. His search leads him to Amarillo, Texas, where he's both aided and stymied by local law enforcement. Kind, caring Sheriff Buck Olmstead (R. Lee Ermey, one my favourite character actors) and his deputy Nate Booker (Ted Levine, always reliable) do all they can for him, but in the midst of a reelection, their efforts are somewhat sabotaged by rival candidate Jack McGinnis (William Fichtner), causing delay in the investigation. Meanwhile, Glover and Leto draw closer and closer to a violent conclusion as the tension grows, inevitably tying in with Quaid's story. It's a crisp, no nonsense thriller that wastes no time bounding out of the gate, and yet never feels rushed. As Glover and Leto travel we are treated to some gorgeous, snowy Colorado scenery, captured nicely by DOP Oliver Wood. I revisit this one from time to time and am never let down at its tension, performances and skillful execution. A fair bit overlooked in thriller-ville as well, I might add.