i miss the way 80s movies feel. not glossy or sharp, a little fuzzy, a tiny bit dirty, thrumming, pulsing. there's something oddly sexless and sterile about a lot of our recent blockbusters. actors don't have wonky teeth, dust on their faces, sweat on their brows. they don't pant after running. they don't look exhausted or hungry: they quip after throwing themselves into danger.i think that the charm of midnight run is that it's not really an action movie populated by action stars so much as the travelogue of just some guys. they're of average intelligence, not particularly skilled, constantly making mistakes. they bicker and smoke on buses (rude!) one of them happens to be a bounty hunter and the other one stole millions from the mob.the movie never overplays either its protagonists or its basic scenario: even as it escalates and gets sillier, it never feels cheesy. a tragic backstory is conveyed non-chalantly and a crucial family visit mostly consists of a shrug and a smile. when the characters make jokes, there's no emphasis on the writers genius, no ba-dum-tiss. it's good sturdy fun but it's taken seriously. the movie feels solid, above all else.i've been thinking about the road a lot: why should i stay cooped up in my apartment when i could be driving under the sky? i'm yearning to leave my life sometimes and go on the run. i'm nostalgic for a time when there were no cell phones or online banking: if you got your credit card cancelled, then good luck mr. robert de niro! chorizo and eggs never seemed so good: it's all about the simple pleasures of life. this movie understands that on a primal level.that's the appeal of a road-trip movie: two people racing against the clock and this whole wide world that's out here. they can leave their responsibilities behind and just focus on the moment. i miss this kind of straight forward-ness. we need to see it more often these days.
