Midnight Run Movie Review

Midnight Run (1988)

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Written by: George Gallo
Directed by: Martin Brest
Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, Philip Baker Hall
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.

Verdict
It's a comedy action movie with a bounty hunter and suspect taking an ill-fated road trip. This manages solid action with quite a few fun scenes and even some character development. These characters are strangers that form a bond. It's much better than the generic action movies the '80s liked to churn out.
It depends.

Review
I finally realized I had seen this before, but I don't remember much about it. De Niro plays bounty hunter Jack Walsh who must pick up an accountant on the run, Mardukas (Charles Grodin). It's funny how everyone smokes in 80s movies.

Robert De Niro plays Jack Walsh

After some sleuthing Jack breaks into Mardukas's house, claiming to be the FBI. Did they not find it odd that they found him hiding in the bathroom or that he didn't knock at their front door?

Jack's not the only one after Mardukas. The FBI and mob want him too. The mob is a lot of comic relief, playing their ruthlessness against their incompetence. Jack and Mardukas start on a plane, move to a train, and then take a bus.

Charles Grodin, Robert De Niro play Mardukas, Jack Walsh

It's funny how Mardukas treats the whole ordeal so casually. He encourages Jack to make healthy choices and to contact his ex-wife. They learn about each other through their conversations. Mardukas talks about wanting to do good in the world. One of their best moments is when Mardukas pretends to be an FBI agent, with Jack playing along, and steals money from a bar by claiming the bills are counterfeit. This is in the midst of Mardukas trying to escape every chance he gets with Jack always catching up. They steal cars, a plane, and they even train hop. This is a road trip movie mixed with the cop and criminal sub genre where they become friends.

This feels like an 80s movie. I don't know if that's because it's a road trip movie with a twist or just the general style like how all these mindless cop cars are always after the duo to no avail. With the way this ends, it could have resolved at the very beginning but Jack needed to learn a valuable lesson first.