Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Minahzur Rahman This movie which was released in the 90s is simply - breathtaking!!! it's a really good movie to watch especially if you're into thrillers. Everything was good - from start to finish! There aren't too many films as suspenseful as Breakdown. Unfortunately, Breakdown is one of these rare movies that seems to have gone unnoticed despite involving Kurt Russell. We all know there were many fine movies during the 90s, but Breakdown was not part of those big movies we all seem to from the top of our heads. Breakdown is an excellent road movie, and there aren't too many road movies that can compete with Breakdown. I don't know why this movie does not get the recognition it deserves as many of the other great movies back then, so that's a mystery in itself. I've heard and seen many greats movies, but this was not one of them. In conclusion, the movie - Breakdown - is a very suspenseful one. Underrated.

popcorninhell Now here's a film that won't win any awards. It won't lend itself to overly complicated interpretation or be ed for anything iconic. It's wholly second-rate as far as plot and character dynamics and it resoundingly breaks the unwritten rule of referencing better films. Yet despite all this, Breakdown is a thing of unappreciated greatness. It's a hidden gem of tone, tension and tomfoolery finding the nerve, gut-instinct and popcorny-ness that looks like it was conjured from the mind of Lee in the play "True West."The plot reads like something out of a John Lemay novel. Jeff (Russell) and Amy (Quinlan) are driving through the desert in their Jeep cross-country. They breakdown on the side of the road where big rig trucker Red (Walsh) offers assistance. Amy leaves with Red to call for a tow while Jeff stays with the Jeep. Hours go by, Jeff checks the car and finds the battery has been tampered with and begins to suspect something is seriously wrong. From there the movie becomes a thriller stitched together by a ransom Jeff can't afford and handled by a group of menacing back-road truckers.Breakdown was produced by the legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis who in addition to spearheading the Italian film renaissance also had a penchant for the fanciful, the scintillating and the obscure. Projects like Flash Gordon (1980), King Kong (1976) and Dune (1984) prove that even at his worst De Laurentiis was a risk-taker; one who appreciated bold ideas.For a relatively small movie made at the dusk of De Laurentiis's career, Breakdown is certainly a bold movie. It moves briskly through its plot, leaving little time for the audience to internalize the ridiculousness of the story while gleefully enjoying some fun action visuals. When the movie does slowdown enough to take a breather, it's surgical in its ability to create truly suspenseful cinematic moments. These moments approach the grandeur of Chinatown's (1974) "The future" scene made less memorable only because there are no iconic lines and, as I said, the plot is patently ridiculous.Yet it was the memory of our lead, getting the jump on Red's lacky Earl (Gainley) and the scene with Red's family is confronted with a pistol wielding Kurt Russell that brought me back to revisit this film years later. While similar "criminal trucker" films of the era like Black Dog (1998) and Joy Ride (2001) were solid in their own right, Breakdown is the only one that really sticks. When you see Russell straight-up dominating experienced truckers on the road via heavily armed car chase, I'm sure you'll agree.

Christopher Culver In BREAKDOWN, Kurt Russell and Amy Quinlan play a wealthy New England couple who find horror in flyover country. While driving across the US, their car breaks down. The various local people they meet who initially seem helpful are in fact criminals working together. The wife is kidnapped, the husband is told to pay half a million to get her back alive, and Kurt Russell decides he'd rather fight.I found this a rather lame movie. Its believability goes way down when, for example, Kurt Russell rides on the bottom of a moving truck trailer and easily finds his way up to the cab. There are obvious continuity and other errors here: a villain gets a brutal rifle blast to his shoulder, but a few minutes later he's driving a car with no visible problems; a small child is shown playing video games (so it's early evening), but a few minutes later in the same scene dawn breaks.About the only entertainment here is the acting of J.T. Walsh and M.C. Gainey, who are caricatures but fun ones. Kurt Russell, on the other hand, acts like he's not particularly happy to have taken this role, and is just going through the motions until he gets his paycheck.I must say that the purported message, if any, of this film is intriguing. BREAKDOWN seems to be suggesting that decent people from the coasts shouldn't venture into the American heartland, since it's the den of rednecks who lie in wait for them.

LeonLouisRicci That Old War Horse Kurt Russell is at it again in Rookie Director Jonathan Mostow's Road Trip, Paranoid, Action Thriller. Unfolding at an Accelerating Pace it takes the Clichés of its Inspirations and makes You want to get in and Go along for the Ride.J.T. Walsh adds His bit of Detached Dementia and the Clan of some Really Nasty Rural Types are on the Hunt for more Big City Prey to Fleece and Murder. One of the Scariest Scenes Takes Place when Their Lair is Discovered and what is Piled Up in The Barn Sends Chills. It is Not an Action Scene, it is a Static Discovery of Past Deeds and Things are lying around like so many Bones and Decaying Flesh in a Horror Movie.This is an Offbeat way of Scaring People on an Intellectual Level without Blood and Bodies. This is a Talented Craftsman at Work with Standard Material and that's what makes this one Out of the Ordinary.The Thrills One Expects from this Type of Thing are here also, but it is an Odd Way that is On Display (like a strange trip down the rapids), as the Film has Fun with Plenty of Homages. Highly Recommended.