Switchback

Rating:
Summary: something is missing in this movie, sadly
Review: i saw this movie with a feeling of looking forward to it but like the previous reviewer, it couldn't kept me interested. The script is good, the actors are very good and still it seems there is something missing to keep you interested. Definitely not a title i would buy.

Rating:
Summary: BOOOOOOOORING
Review: I'm a great Dennis Quaid and Jared Leto fan, but even them couldn't keep me interested in this movie.

Rating:
Summary: too short
Review: it was too short and they gave us too many hints as to who the real killer was!ALthough it is better on dvd,because the videos are all pan.scan(modified)at least the film is way it was shown in the theater.

Rating:
Summary: Gave away the killer too soon
Review: It would have been better if the action picked up right when the killer is known. It just wasn't intense enough with only having to guess between a couple people who was the killer.

Rating:
Summary: GLOVER'S FILM
Review: SWITCHBACK is a good movie. I felt it had some great suspense scenes and the climax is a different one. Director Jeb Stuart has orchestrated some beautiful snow shots, and utilizes the special effects quite well. The main problem with the movie is Dennis Quaid's performance. I have enjoyed many of Quaid's roles, particularly in "Frequency" and "Innerspace." In this one, however, his stoic, emotionless FBI agent is so wooden and lifeless that I didn't find myself sympathizing with him on the kidnapping of his child nor his quest to find the serial killer. Danny Glover, however, is superb. He demonstrates a wide range of emotions, and even though you know where his role is going to take him, it's a pleasure going along for the ride. The suspense he creates in the scene in the convenience store is acutely eeerie. Jared Leto is okay as the mysterious hitchhiker, but a little more sinister behavior could have enhanced the mystery. William Frichtner as the newly elected sheriff did a commendable job with his underwritten role. (He was also excellent in "Perfect Storm."). This is the first movie I liked R. Lee Ermey. Usually playing the redneck villian, he gets a chance to play a redneck good guy and he seems to relish the change. Ted Levine, the bad guy from "Silence of the Lambs" plays Ermey's deputy with such downhome fervor, he too emerges a winner in the casting department. Basil Polodorous' score was also effective. Not a classic, but it deserved more than it got on its initial release; just wish Quaid had been directed differently.
RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: GLOVER'S FILM
Review: SWITCHBACK is a good movie. I felt it had some great suspense scenes and the climax is a different one. Director Jeb Stuart has orchestrated some beautiful snow shots, and utilizes the special effects quite well. The main problem with the movie is Dennis Quaid's performance. I have enjoyed many of Quaid's roles, particularly in "Frequency" and "Innerspace." In this one, however, his stoic, emotionless FBI agent is so wooden and lifeless that I didn't find myself sympathizing with him on the kidnapping of his child nor his quest to find the serial killer. Danny Glover, however, is superb. He demonstrates a wide range of emotions, and even though you know where his role is going to take him, it's a pleasure going along for the ride. The suspense he creates in the scene in the convenience store is acutely eeerie. Jared Leto is okay as the mysterious hitchhiker, but a little more sinister behavior could have enhanced the mystery. William Frichtner as the newly elected sheriff did a commendable job with his underwritten role. (He was also excellent in "Perfect Storm."). This is the first movie I liked R. Lee Ermey. Usually playing the redneck villian, he gets a chance to play a redneck good guy and he seems to relish the change. Ted Levine, the bad guy from "Silence of the Lambs" plays Ermey's deputy with such downhome fervor, he too emerges a winner in the casting department. Basil Polodorous' score was also effective. Not a classic, but it deserved more than it got on its initial release; just wish Quaid had been directed differently.
RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: A bit disjointed at first, but then . . . !
Review: The film starts off by telling us two different, and seemingly unrelated stories: the investigation of a murder in a small town, which might be the most recent murder in a string committed by a serial killer; the story of a down-and-out young hitchhiker, picked by a likeable, colorful older man, who quickly manages to save the young man's life. The viewer knows, or at least hopes, the stories connect, but how? As they eventually converge, the movie's slow pace picks up steam rapidly. By the end, there is action, chases, and suspense aplenty.


Four performances stand out here. Danny Glover is spectacular as the colorful but down-to-Earth, no-nonsense man who picks up the hitchhiker. He is as smooth as silk as he flows through this role and charms everyone, despite . . . no spoilers here.


Ian Nelson (I never heard of him before now) is great as the apparently good guy/hitchhiker who seems smart but naive, moral but adrift without a compass in life, and both much more, and much less, than he should be. Does he live? No spoilers here.


Dennis Quaid reminds me of Tomnmy Lee Jones, as the intense, driven, FBI agent who hunts the serial killer, for several reasons. He is definitely good and moral, but is he legal? By the end, just as he's about to . . . no spoilers here.


R. Lee Ermey is a face I've seen many times, but a name I did not know. He portrays the small-town sheriff who must balance fighting for re-election, chasing a serial killer, bucking the FBI, and believing in Dennis Quaid despite . . . no spoilers here.


This was a thoroughly enjoyable who-dunnit/will-they-catch-him film, despite a slow and somewhat disjointed beginning.

Rating:
Summary: HEY! WHADAYA WANT ANYWAY?
Review: There appeared to be enough mystery and strangeness to start out with.
Two fine actors - performance very good - story [predictable?] oh well.
A bit gory! but then --- what makes a movie? the back and forth suspense kept your attention. Certainly enjoyed the Sheriff - FBI appeared ineffectual - Quaid's determination to find the seriel killer was understandable - Glover's motive not quite clear but played with panauche.
Hey, it was worth seeing - definitely recommended if your not squeamish! [1997] not bad.

Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS MOVIE, IT WAS GREAT!
Review: This was one of the best action/suspense movies I have ever seen. I understand what some of the other reviewers have said about knowing who was responsible for the killings too soon. Yet I feel that it didn't detract from the film at all. In my opinion this movie was about beating the clock and outsmarting the killer. It was terrific, I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Killer leaves trail of clues...
Review: While watching The Bone Collector at a theater recently I was reminded of Switchback and the similar theme of a killer leaving intentional clues and daring the police to find them before they killed again. Although both movies suffered from Hollywood's habit of providing unlikely coincidences I enjoyed both films. Switchback on DVD is close to reference quality with a great picture enhancing the beautiful scenery and tremendous audio provided by the Dolby Digital soundtrack. The fight scene toward the end is particularly exciting with the sound cranked up. The movie's locales are off the beaten track and that alone can sometimes be recommendation enough. See it...at least once.