Switchback

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, William Fitchner, R. Lee Ermey, Ted Levine
Directed by: Jeb Stuart
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: An FBI Agent (Dennis Quaid) tries to catch the serial killer who kidnapped his young son as part of his game.

Review:

Tim: Switchback is an almost stunningly bland thriller. It's truly surprising how average this movie is in just about every single way. It's a completely forgettable, throwaway film. While some strong elements were present, the movie as a whole never gels. Writer and first-time director Jeb Stuart finds himself in way over his head, and as a result, the movie never comes together. This is a disappointing film.

I should clarify that I don't hate Switchback. It's a perfectly fine little thriller. It manages to keep us mildly entertained, and it has a few nice twists and turns. The problem is that just about every aspect of the film is mediocre. There's no great moments to pull up all the lackluster ones. As a result, this is a film with little to get excited about.

One of the biggest flaws has to do with Dennis Quaid's character. I really like Quaid, but he plays the most boring, one-dimensional protagonist I can remember seeing. There's nothing to his character- he feels like cardboard. When your lead protagonist isn't the most exciting character (nor is he second or third), that is a huge problem. I was much more interested in seeing the supporting characters on screen. It's such a weird thing that the movie focuses most of its time away from Quaid, when in reality, we needed to identify with him significantly more than we did. I never connected with him, and so I had no interest in whether he succeeded or not.

Surprisingly, I found the Danny Glover-Jared Leto storyline significantly more compelling. These were interesting characters, and I loved their dynamic together. I wondered whether one of them was actually the serial killer, or whether we were just getting red herrings. Their scenes take up a lot of the movie, probably because they were so much more interesting than the snooze-inducing Quaid here. I actually did enjoy their interactions quite a bit. This movie would probably have been much better if Quaid's character was just a minor supporting role and we spent the whole movie just with Glover and Leto. Glover played his role superbly- he was charismatic, experienced, friendly, and possibly a deranged killer. Leto played his role quite well- he was the troubled former medical doctor who's in over his head, but keeps his past close to his vest (could he be something more than he was?). These two mysterious men come together under interesting circumstances. Their scenes were the highlights of the film for me. I did also enjoy R. Lee Ermey much more than I thought I would. His role was small, but important.

The film gives us a few intense moments, but as a whole, the story was fairly average. There was nothing we haven't seen before, and no real compelling reason to get on the edge of our seats. The characters didn't really connect with the audience, so I felt mostly ambivalent about everything I was seeing on screen. Even the big climax on the train left me feeling strangely cold and a lack of any kind of exhilaration.

Switchback isn't a terrible movie. I never hated it or felt upset or angry with it. It's just a bland, disappointing effort. Nothing on screen is especially memorable, and the movie is a bit too long at 118 minutes. You can do worse than this film, but make no mistake- it's not hard to do much, much better, either.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Fire Down Below, Just Cause, The Fugitive