Switchback (1997)

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Jeb Stuart directs Danny Glover, Jared Leto and Dennis Quaid in this cross country thriller where a mystery serial killer, possibly one of two men in a car lined full of Playboy photos, lures a rogue FBI agent across state lines. 

There’s two solid, decent films vying for attention here. One a Hitchcokian road movie where an overly friendly driver (Glover – strong) and a nervy hitchhiker (Leto- acceptable) try to figure each other out as they head through the snowy wastes of the States. We know one or both might turn out to be a murderer and that adds to stuffy air of tension nicely. The other movie follows The Fugitive template (Jeb Stuart wrote the brilliant remake of the TV series as well as Die Hard) as an FBI agent (Quaid – not on form) struggles against local law enforcement to track the rogue, hampered by the fact there is an election going on between rival sheriffs. That half of the narrative is a little less exciting but strong support work from Ted Levine, William Fichtner and especially R. Lee Ermey (Hey, anyone of those could play a serial killer?!) adds a bit of juice to the rote exposition. It all eventually pans out in the most predictable way with a jarringly large scale, stunt driven setpiece on board a cargo train. In all honesty this kinda thing has been done far better in the likes of No Country For Old Men or Se7en but there just about enough goodwill from the salty cast to make it chime.

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