Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Joe Pantoliano and Dennis Farina
Directed by: Martin Brest
Midnight follows the story of Jack Walsh who is an ex-cop turned bounty hunter who is sent to find and return a bail jumper and former mafia accountant John “The Duke” Mardukas. We follow them on their journey from New York to Los Angeles so that Jack can collect his $100,000 fee. As they are making their cross country travels they are being followed and intercepted by FBI, mafia goons and a rival bounty hunter.
Midnight Run is a fun, action packed adventure which I feel deserves more recognition and praise than what it gets. When people think of Robert De Niro’s best performances, Raging Bull, Cape Fear & Taxi Driver among others are usually mentioned. Very rare do people ever give mention to Midnight Run. I’m not suggesting that this movie is on par with some of the movies previously mentioned but it’s certainly isn’t far off. Again, De Niro’s performance is superb, the movie stays enjoyable and engaging throughout and there’s a lot of great action along the his & Charles Grodin’s (The Duke) adventure across country. There’s sprinkles of comedy throughout to keep you chuckling until the very end.
As good as Midnight Run is to watch and I would certainly recommend to anybody who hasn’t seen it before, Charles Grodin as De Niro’s supporting act comes across very wooden and for me his poor performance slightly spoils things for me.
8/10
Movie Ramblings 