Switchback (1997)

I have to say, I think that this film is seriously under-rated, not that well known, and deserves a much higher rating on IMDb. I don't rate many films at 9, but I think that this has to be one. It is astoundingly good, and is one of my favourite thrillers. Is this one of Danny Glover's best performances? I think it is, he is captivating in every scene, a truly menacing character that he masters so well - great acting! The scenery is also memorable, this film would look great on a big screen (cinema or home TV - the bigger the better).If you like films like "A Perfect Murder" (Michael Douglas), or "Breakdown" (Kurt Russel), then you should take a look at this film. Coincidentally, they were all made in the late 1990's.Highly recommended!

"Switchback" begins with a murder and a kidnapping. The next thing we know, an FBI agent, Frank LaCrosse (Dennis Quaid) arrives in Armarillo, Texas, looking for a serial killer. The MO of the murders there matches that of the killer he's been tracking for some time.In a parallel storyline, a good ol' boy, Bob Goodall (Danny Glover) driving a wild Cadillac gives a ride to a young man, Lane Dixon (Jared Leto) with a mysterious past -- at one point, a man is choking in a coffee shop and Lane announces he's a doctor and gives the man a tracheotomy. But he won't discuss it with Goodall.And in a third subplot, the town of Amarillo is preparing for a big election of sheriff, and the fight is between the current Sheriff Buck Olmstead (R. Lee Ermey) and police chief Jack McGinnis (William Fichtner). In the midst of their murder investigation, Olmstead learns that FBI agent Frank LaCrosse was removed from the case and is on probation with the FBI.All these plots fit neatly together."Switchback" is an exciting film with sequences that will have you on the edge of your seat, particularly those on the train. In a funny way it reminded me of a less glossy version of a James Bond film, in that the stunts were wild, with characters hanging off of cliffs, dangling from trains, in horrible car accidents - it never lets up.The plot is a little far-fetched and the ending predictable, although some elements are left open. But it has moments of real thrills and tension, with good performances by Glover, Quaid, and Jared Leto who always looks so drop dead gorgeous in movies. "Monk" star Ted Levine (Leland Stottlemeyer) plays a deputy, and if you look fast, you'll see Shield's Walt Goggins as one of the sheriff's men. Fortunately both have gone on to deserved success.Recommended.

It's the story of a serial killer the police is trying to find and who also kidnapped the son of a FBI agent (Dennis Quaid)to challenge him. I didn't mind this movie because it has a good pace and the story is well developed. The setting is also nice being Colorado, with its snowy mountains and its long highways. The chasing scene on the train is also gripping and catching. The actors Dennis Quaid, Jared Leto and Danny Glover, who I've always used to think of as the policeman who's made fun of in Lethal Weapon, is credible in his role. However I give a 6 to this movie because it doesn't have that touch in the plot and in the action scenes that make it more than an average thriller.

Formally a thriller, this film is in fact a rather substantive morality play about the price of integrity. Everyone in the film is called upon to make a moral choice that reflects who and what they are. And choosing has a price. Sheriff Olmstead played masterfully by R. Lee Ermey--once observes that "He--FBI agent Frank La Crosse--told the truth, and once you tell the truth, everything else is just cheap whiskey." Olmstead's observation pretty much sums up the film. Virtue is good whiskey. Laughably, Ermey delivers this line spot on with a bottle of Jim Beam--definitely not good whiskey--in the background. Olmsteads's integrity costs him the sheriff's election. His elective replacement, Chief McGinnis, played by William Fichtner, initially comes across as a pompous ass: but even he makes a virtuous choice that eventually costs him. Jared Leto who plays Lane Dixon, a burned out physician who strangely bonds with the killer, is another case of self-discovery through moral agency. Even Bob Goodall--a.k.a Danny Glover--the clearly insane serial killer, has a kind of warped integrity. Twisted, yes; but true to his "twistedness". FBI agent La Crosse's observation that the killer, Bob Goodall--the name is hardly accidental--may be a murderer but is not a liar simply underscores the film's larger Stoic themes. As Epictetus put it: "Be one man, bad or good." This film, written and directed by Jeb Stuart should have received more critical attention. It is a thoughtful and philosophically reflective film that paid a price for its quirky moral subtext and integrity: it flopped at the box office. Philosophical films, even subdued ones, are generally not money makers--even with decent writing such as this and a popular genre that should have been an appropriate vehicle for its message. However, even for an unreflective viewer this is an entertaining film directed and written by the same guy--Jeb Stuart--who wrote the screenplays for "Die Hard" and "The Fugitive".