Midnight Run

Midnight Run is not widely seen by my generation. However, upon it's release in the 1980's (and it is trenchantly an 80's movie) it was seen as the epitome of the buddy movie. It's a comedy about a bounty hunter (Robert DeNiro) who has to retrieve someone for a shit ton of money and bring him back by midnight in a few days. However, the FBI is also going after the same man, so in order to get the guy in on time, he has to avoid the FBI and do this supposedly easy job, quickly. It is so good at what it does that I smiled at how well it was doing it. Anyone who believes that the recent: Due Date is a great film should go back and see this. It is a comedy in the tradition where the characters don't know that what's happening is funny. In Grown Ups, another recent, dumb film, the characters are all laughing at each other. That is retarded. For a comedy to be good I don't want the characters in it to be having a good time, I want myself to be having a good time. I require things happening to the cosmos or their idiocy. That is supplied gleefully in Midnight Run. It is a wonderful feeling to watch a film get better and better. It's almost too much. I remember pausing the film to walk out of the room for a breath because it was so damn exciting.
Midnight Run: ★★★★