running time : 1 hour 35 minutes starring kurt russell , j . t walsh and kathleen quinlan directed by jonathan mostow breakdown is an moderately entertaining , if underwhelming , thriller . kurt russell and kathleen quinlan play couple jeff and amy taylor , taking the scenic route to california through redneck country . however , while in the middle of nowhere , their jeep decides to break down , leaving them stranded . a friendly truck driver , warren ( walsh ) , offers to give them a lift to town . although jeff rejects the offer ( he wants to stay with his car ) , amy agrees , hops into warren's lorry , and promptly disappears . jeff wonders where the hell she is , and when he later catches up with warren and warren says he has never seen amy in his life , the plot thickens and jeff goes on a chase to find his wife . although comparisons can be made with this film to deliverance ( 1972 ) and the vanishing ( 1993 ) plot wise , the latter two are far superior character and script wise . kurt russell is o . k as jeff , although he can seemingly only pull of one expression , which is angry . throughout the whole film , he looks angry ( or just pissed off . ) quinlan is o . k again , but again she can only pull off one expression , which is looking dorky . throughout the whole film , she looks dorky . j . t walsh ( who , sadly , recently passed away ) is fine as warren ( who we soon find out is a kidnapper ) although his actual character is pretty weak , and not really menacing enough . the supporting cast do their best aswell , with rex linn as a doubting sheriff , and the other kidnappers . the story , written by first-timer jonathan mostow ( who also directs ) is o . k , if surprisingly familiar and sometimes extraordinarily stupid . some of the things the characters do in this movie is beyond the bounds of idiocy . there are some flaws with the plot also , as the characters do the complete opposite to logical ( presumably to keep the story 'exciting' ) and also the fact that the story just isn't strong enough to sustain the audience's attention . the picture moves along very slowly also . it almost threatens to drop dead . the picture does pick up towards the end , but by then it's too late . mostow directs the action sequences well enough , however . the film doesn't really come to a satisfying conclusion , either . the ending tries to be bleak , but just comes off annoying . breakdown could of been a far more enjoyable picture had it had a stronger cast and director . instead , it just turns out to be merely average . a missed opportunity . overall rating= * * out of * * * * * review by david wilcock david wilcock <a href= " mailto : david . wilcock@btinternet . com " >david . wilcock@btinternet . com</a> visit the wilcock movie page ! <a href= " http : //wilcockmovie . home . ml . org " >http : //wilcockmovie . home . ml . org</a> -or- <a href= " http : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/9061 " >http : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/9061</a> recieve wilcock movie page reviews via e-mail send a blank e-mail to <a href= " mailto : wmp-reviews-subscribe@makelist . com " >wmp-reviews-subscribe@makelist . com</a> to join the mailing list ! 
