Review of Fugitive, The: The Chase Continues

Introduction

“The Fugitive – The Chase Continues” is the pilot episode of a big-budget remake of the original TV series, from the producers of the 1993 hit movie which starred Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

Whilst you might think from the title that this is a follow-up to the movie, it isn’t, the story starts right at the beginning with the murder of Kimble’s wife, the escape after a crash and then continues with the relentless pursuit by US Marshal Gerrard. At the same time of course Dr Kimble is searching for the real killer...

Video

Video comes in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen and is of good quality throughout – looking more like a Hollywood movie than a TV movie. The picture is crisp and stable, with no compression problems evident.

Like the film, the visuals centre on a number of set-piece stunts. There’s the initial crash sequence, which in comparison to the original movie is rather lame, plus a jump from a very high building. There are also numerous chase and fights thrown in for good measure.

Audio

It’s nice to see a TV movie arrive on DVD with a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix – especially one that sound’s pretty good!

The available channels are all used to good effect for music and incidental effects, and the dialogue is clear and understandable at all times.

Features

There’s a short featurette where the producers explain their goals etc for the production. It’s interesting enough, but extremely short and therefore of limited value. There’s also a trailer.

The menu is static and irritatingly is 4:3 which doesn’t look good on my 16:9 television and is also bizarre considering that the movie is 16:9.

The disc is packaged in one of Warner’s usual “snapper” cases which lists the 28 chapter breaks.

Conclusion

Overall, there’s one HUGE problem with this disc as a DVD release. Being a pilot episode for a TV Series, it’s left hanging at the end! After one chase scene, the credit started to roll and I was left sitting swearing! I don`t know if there are plans to release the episodes on DVD over here, but if not, we`re going to have to wait years until the series appears on TV to find out what happened next!

Actually, the film was reasonably enjoyable, with a pretty good cast, some good effects and stunts and a reasonably fast pace throughout. Designed for TV, there’s a bit more character development which can lead to the film being a bit patronising when dealing with “how nice” Dr Kimble actually is. Kimble is played well by Tim Daly, and his adversary Gerrard is also played well by Mykelti Williamson. Whilst not Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, both actors provide watchable characters who should prove interesting enough week to week.

The picture and sound are both good, and the disc is bare except for a very short featurette.

Whilst an enjoyable enough way to spend an evening, there’s limited repeat viewing potential for this disc, so I would recommend that you rent it before you buy.