Midnight Run is a great and wonderfully simplistic and wildly entertaining movie featuring two great performances by Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin whose characters work well off one another.
Midnight Run
— Shout Select —
(1988)
Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy
Shout Factory | R – 127 min. – $34.93 | August 23, 2016
Date Published: 08/23/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Jack Walsh (ROBERT DE NIRO) is a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter. Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (CHARLES GRODIN) is a sensitive accountant who embezzled $15 million from the mob, gave it charity and then jumped bail. Jack’s in for a cool $100,000 if he can deliver The Duke from New York to L.A. on time… and alive. Sounds like just another Midnight Run (a piece of cake in bounty hunter slang), but it turns into a cross-country chase. The FBI wants The Duke to testify, the mob wants him for revenge and Walsh wants him to just shut up. If someone else doesn’t the job, the two unlikely partners may end up killing each other. Quick Hit Review: Midnight Run is one fun movie that, outside of Danny Elfman’s score that screamed 1980s, stands the test of time. The tit-for-tat relationship between De Niro and Grodin makes the movie work but the plot is great having many moving pieces and a variety of colorful characters in pursuit of The Duke, including a fellow bounty hunter played by John Ashton. I’m still not sure how this stacks up with Martin Brest’s other well known film from the era, Beverly Hills Cop, yet Midnight Run is a finely paced adventure-comedy with consistent laughs and a few nice, heart-felt moments. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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Interview with Robert De Niro (8:51; HD) – This new interview with De Niro, intermixed with clips from the film (and an annoying voice over), discussing his character and working with Charles Grodin. We also get some old-ish interviews with Charles Grodin (12:24; HD), Joe Pantoliano (14:19; HD), John Ashton (17:23; HD). Yaphet Kotto (7:36; HD) and Screenwriter George Gallo (24:43; HD). Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (1:12; HD) and a vintage Making-of Featurette (7:26; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Shout Factory, through their new Shout Select line, presents Midnight Run on Blu-ray shown in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given an impressive 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The picture quality is excellent, colors are bright, detail is sharp, darker scenes look good showing no signs of artifacts or aliasing and although there is some noise, it’s natural looking. It’s not quite reference quality work yet still for a movie closing in on 30 years, and sometimes inconsistency in the video transfers nowadays, it looks great. |
AUDIO – 4.35/5 |
| Not to be outdone, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are well done. The music from Danny Elfman makes the most use of these tracks but dialogue levels sound nice and clear and any ambient noises, for the 5.1 option, provide decent enough depth. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, Midnight Run is a great and wonderfully simplistic and wildly entertaining movie featuring two great performances by Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin whose characters work well off one another. This Shout Select release offers great video and audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus material to peruse. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.