Midnight Run

Midnight Run 1988, the benchmark for the buddy buddy road movie.

The unsung DeNiro classic. The missing 80s masterpiece as regards everything coming together, and simply the best buddy buddy movie that, to me at least, has ever hit the screen.

De Niro & Grodin, there is no other duo in the genre that bounces off each other with the 100% joyful results we get here. They define the term dynamic duo. Director Martin Brest lets his actors do their thing, it is the sort of film where the cast are just happy to be working and use their talent to the max. Be it improv or visually acting in the back ground, both men are at one and in some chemistry zone.

The score from Danny Elfman is like some hybrid Western wacky races fusion, but hell ...

"Midnight Run" has a generous measure of wonderfully executed action sequences and comedy that is genuinely funny, although there is an extremely high reliance upon swearing and this will undoubtedly offend and alienate the more sensitive souls sitting out there in the audience. This is also a hugely entertaining film which contains a number of memorable Robert De Niro moments - he is fascinating to watch during the scene where he visits his ex-wife Gail to borrow some money (this, in turn, leads to a spectacularly awkward encounter with his daughter which eventually ends in embarrassing silence) and again when he finally comes face to face with Jimmy Serrano, an unwelcome face from his past - and the many locations look absolutely gorgeous.