The Chase (1991)

Phil Hutchinson and I grew up together and it's too bad the folks who produced this movie didn't bother to look into why he did what he did and what made him tick. Not once do they mention his father's suicide, his grandmother's suicide, his military service, his time in a Mexican jail, his ex-wife and child. The movie could have gone a long way towards trying to understand when bad things happen to good people but it was just a bunch of schmaltz on the folks who came in contact with Phil. I was glad to find out that his sister Dana sued the television station that repeatedly sold their footage to other news outlets. As for one of the final scenes where the reporter states "an eye for an eye"...excuse me, but while he didn't intentionally try to kill the policeman (the man stepped out in front of his truck), did he deserve to be shot so many times that he was unrecognizable to his family and friends? That was pure vigilante justice and unnecessary force.

*Ben Johnson* is not the cop who dies in this film. He plays the old man who is taken hostage. Two of the previous reviewers made the same mistake, or one just fed off the other's mistake without taking the time to make sure their facts were straight.*Barry Corbin* plays Wallis, the cop who dies after being run down by Hutchinson during the chase.

The Chase is based on a true story, but takes a very long time to get to the moment that gives rise to its title, unless you consider the police work being conducted as part of the chase itself. We get thumbnail sketches of the people who encounter the convict, and somehow that is supposed to make us care about them. The actual helicopter chase, very late in the movie, is short and not terribly exciting. The movie seems more like a modern day Investigative Reports than a movie trying to tell a story.David Janssen in Birds of Prey was far more interesting as a former military pilot on a new mission chasing robbers and their hostage. The helicopter flying was also far more sensational than anything seen in this movie. The Chase cannot match Birds of Prey in either category and I was left wondering why anyone bothered to make it at all.

I just got this movie on VHS not too long ago and it was a great action film. I loved all the action scenes. The emotional times were the saddest when Dale's(Anthony Tyler Quinn) dad(Ben Johnson) passed away and I liked what he said at the services for his dad. In Denver, a bank robber trying to escape the police kills a cop and kidnaps an old man to hold as a hostage. He is chased by the police and a news helicopter, which films the entire incident. Based on a true story.Great casting :)