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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Breakdown

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Jonathan Mostow (also story)
Sam Montgomery
Directed by: Jonathan Mostow
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 2, 1997
DVD: January 7, 2003
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for strong violence/terror and language
Starring Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy, Rex Linn, Ritch Brinkley, and Moira Harris
Jeff Taylor (Russell) and his wife Amy (Quinlan) are headed toward a new life in California when their car's engine dies on a remote highway. Amy accepts a ride from a helpful trucker (Walsh) while Jeff waits with the car. But when Jeff shows up at the agreed rendezvous, he finds his wife's not there. The locals aren't talking; the police aren't much help. With no one to turn to, Jeff battles his worst fears and begins a desperate, danger-ridden search to find Amy -- before it's too late! (Paramount Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines U-571
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
Bucking the lava tide of computer special effects gushing out of Hollywood this season, the makers of Breakdown use old-fashioned ingenuity -- plus a compelling star, a fast- paced mystery and a deadpan villain -- to come up with a sizzler.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Breakdown feels at first so casual, so comfortable with its own small expectations (a good but unglamorous cast, a sturdy but unspectacular plot), that the authentic feelings of suspense are a surprise.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
Breakdown recalls so many good movies, in such unpredictable order, that by the end it simply stands on its own, a solid, logical, edge-of-the-seat sluiceway of escape and pursuit.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Jack Mathews
Mostow, with his first feature, has made such a convincing, fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller that you'd swear you'd never seen anything quite like it.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Stephen Thompson
Breakdown is just a skillfully constructed, smartly conceived, escapist thriller that does just about everything right.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
His Breakdown is a tough, vigorous exercise in pure action, shot with throwback expertise and, most refreshingly, without special effects.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
In his bigscreen feature debut, director and co-writer Jonathan Mostow displays real flair for visceral cinema while adroitly sidestepping many of the usual tripwires of this sort of film, particularly silly coincidences, stupid decisions on the part of characters with whom you're supposed to identify, and superheroics performed by ordinary people.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Breakdown exploits so many traditional thriller situations that any suspense fan vet can easily devote a hand to counting off the predecessors it plunders. [02May1997 Pg 12.D]
Empire Bob McCabe
The great thing about Breakdown is simply that what you see is what you get. Want 90 minutes of edge of the seat tension? You got it. Want an unravelling nightmare that stays with you long after the movie? You got it.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Breakdown is a taut little thriller, the kind of well-crafted yarn that sets itself attainable goals and then meets them.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
It starts slowly, but builds to a spectacular climax with hearty sound effects and deftly directed stunts.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Breakdown is a fine thriller, and its ending is unworthy of it.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Richard Harrington
Jonathon Mostow, who wrote the script and then directed the movie, travels mostly familiar backroads and crosses bridges when he comes to them, actually managing a pretty good cliff-hanging denouement on the latter.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The movie's surrender to banality is all the more dispiriting because it gets off to such a good start.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
There are echoes of Stephen Spielberg's "Duel," as well as "Roadgames," "The Hitcher" and "The Hills Have Eyes," but director/cowriter Mostow isn't interested in hommages: He's just looking to crank up the suspense (not the in your face action, thank heavens), bit by miserable bit, and does a very nice job of it.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Each set piece is effectively executed, but the characters and their motivations become progressively dimmer and more confused.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
When you really think about Breakdown - and believe me, that would probably require spending more time thinking about the movie than the filmmakers did - it doesn't make much sense.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Russell Smith
Breakdown further illustrates the axiom that every truly original movie must be remade again and again until it achieves a state of sublime, all-encompassing idiocy.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Breakdown is the latest in a seemingly endless traffic jam of thrillers that opens strong but finishes abominably.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Brandon U. gave it a9:
A very well made thriller with great performaces from Kurt Russell and the late, great, J.T. Walsh.
