U.S. Marshals

Whereas The Fugitive demonstrated the way big-budget Hollywood filmmaking works best (with a consistently adventurous screenplay, awe-inspiring special effects, commanding performances, and forgivable contrivances that weren't worth questioning), this semi-sequel is a representation of how it's usually done. With Harrison Ford's Dr. Kimble presumably enjoying his freedom somewhere out of trouble's way, U.S. Marshals bumps Tommy Lee Jones's Sam Gerard (in a reprise of his Oscar-winning turn as the mordant, adroit pursuer) into the role of protagonist, this time chasing Sheridan (Wesley Snipes), a government special agent accused of knocking off two other high-level agents in a NYC parking lot. What follows is a series of elaborate chases, false conclusions, and convenient plot revelations that in every way fail to live up to the similar fireworks displayed in the original. Even the impressive train crash that kicked off The Fugitive is expanded upon -- this time with a silly, high-concept plane crash that sends Snipes on his way to freedom. Snipes and Jones don't re-create the fresh contrast between Ford's meticulous determination and Jones's impetuous drive; Snipes is given no character history to make you care about him, and Jones is exhausting as he does the same thing he did in the original. Director Stuart Baird (Executive Decision) isn't nearly as apt as The Fugitive's Andrew Davis was in expanding the minimal, chase-heavy script into a plausible and compelling narrative. What's on display here is a cheap way of cashing in on a good thing. At the Cheri, the Fresh Pond, and the Circle and in the suburbs.

-- Danny Lorber