Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Sick Product of a Sick System

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"Switchback" opens with a tense scene that ultimately shocks the viewer and definitely catches your attention. A young child is being cared for by a babysitter. A creepy guy comes to the door and she turns him away - but somehow someone else got into the house, and he murders the babysitter and kidnaps the child. Really, from that point on you're not going to turn away from this because you have to find out how everything fits together. That isn't always easy. There are times when the connection isn't all that clear. In the first half hour or so, for example, it seems as if there are two completely separate stories going on, and frankly neither of the stories seems connected to that opening scene. In Amarillo, Texas, the local sheriff of Potter Country (R. Lee Emery) is being challenged for sheriff in an upcoming election by the chief of the Amarillo Police Department (William Fichtner) and both are hoping to gain votes by solving a couple of murders that took place in a local motel room. That seemed rather out of place when compared to the opening, as did what seemed to be shaping up as a "road trip" story featuring Lane (Jared Leto) and Bob (Danny Glover.) The movie seemed disconnected - but somehow it holds you, because you know that eventually everything has to get back to that opening, and you stick with this in spite of some confusion to find out how it does. In fact, it turns out to be a pretty good ride.The key to the whole movie is FBI Agent Frank LaCrosse (Dennis Quaid.) LaCrosse is hunting a serial killer who's murdered 18 people, and he's convinced that the recent killings in Amarillo were committed by the same killer. He's passionate about this investigation. As he says to the sheriff, he "knows" this killer. And finally, the connection is made. As the relationship between LaCrosse and the sheriff grows closer, LaCrosse tells the sheriff that his son had been kidnapped by this serial killer (AHA! - The connection to the opening scene!) and he was desperately searching for him to save his son. The killer is now playing a sort of cat and mouse game with LaCrosse. Eventually, the movie gives away who the killer is with quite a while to go, but even with that riddle solved, you keep watching. What about the LaCrosse's son?It's a pretty good ride. As an action movie, it starts slow but picks up speed, and there end up being a lot of pretty exciting scenes - especially on the train as the movie approaches its climax. As a suspense thriller, it's a pretty tense story. But there were two great weaknesses that detracted from this a little bit. The killer (I won't give away who it was) wasn't sufficiently developed. He came across as a nice guy with a pretty normal life, but the movie never really explained to us why the killer was playing the cat and mouse game with LaCrosse. Or why he was a killer in the first place. Why did he kidnap young Andy? Was it just to make sure LaCrosse would keep searching for him? Was it to get into Frank's head and even into his soul? The killer's motivation could have been explored a little better, although in a way the mystery about him and his apparent normalcy actually makes him a pretty scary psychopath. And, in the end, after some real excitement on the train, I thought the story kind of fizzled out. The eventual reunion between Frank and his son seemed anti-climactic. Still, even with a few weaknesses, this was a good story. (7/10)

Well done thriller, but, ultimately, I was somewhat disappointed, because it didn't really bring anything new to the table. The violence in the movie was pretty disturbing, not because of the gruesomeness, which wasn't particularly extreme, but instead due to the preferred method of killing and the killer's attitude. Dennis Quaid delivers a solid performance as the exceptionally solid, totally dependable, ideal father figure, a particular archetype he seems to have built a career on. Like one of the other reviewers commented, Danny Glover is not a favorite actor of mine, but he played his role in this film very well. In summary, a pretty run-of-the-mill thriller with high production values that plays much more like very good TV than a major motion picture.

"Switchback" begins with a murder and a kidnapping. The next thing we know, an FBI agent, Frank LaCrosse (Dennis Quaid) arrives in Armarillo, Texas, looking for a serial killer. The MO of the murders there matches that of the killer he's been tracking for some time.In a parallel storyline, a good ol' boy, Bob Goodall (Danny Glover) driving a wild Cadillac gives a ride to a young man, Lane Dixon (Jared Leto) with a mysterious past -- at one point, a man is choking in a coffee shop and Lane announces he's a doctor and gives the man a tracheotomy. But he won't discuss it with Goodall.And in a third subplot, the town of Amarillo is preparing for a big election of sheriff, and the fight is between the current Sheriff Buck Olmstead (R. Lee Ermey) and police chief Jack McGinnis (William Fichtner). In the midst of their murder investigation, Olmstead learns that FBI agent Frank LaCrosse was removed from the case and is on probation with the FBI.All these plots fit neatly together."Switchback" is an exciting film with sequences that will have you on the edge of your seat, particularly those on the train. In a funny way it reminded me of a less glossy version of a James Bond film, in that the stunts were wild, with characters hanging off of cliffs, dangling from trains, in horrible car accidents - it never lets up.The plot is a little far-fetched and the ending predictable, although some elements are left open. But it has moments of real thrills and tension, with good performances by Glover, Quaid, and Jared Leto who always looks so drop dead gorgeous in movies. "Monk" star Ted Levine (Leland Stottlemeyer) plays a deputy, and if you look fast, you'll see Shield's Walt Goggins as one of the sheriff's men. Fortunately both have gone on to deserved success.Recommended.

Formally a thriller, this film is in fact a rather substantive morality play about the price of integrity. Everyone in the film is called upon to make a moral choice that reflects who and what they are. And choosing has a price. Sheriff Olmstead played masterfully by R. Lee Ermey--once observes that "He--FBI agent Frank La Crosse--told the truth, and once you tell the truth, everything else is just cheap whiskey." Olmstead's observation pretty much sums up the film. Virtue is good whiskey. Laughably, Ermey delivers this line spot on with a bottle of Jim Beam--definitely not good whiskey--in the background. Olmsteads's integrity costs him the sheriff's election. His elective replacement, Chief McGinnis, played by William Fichtner, initially comes across as a pompous ass: but even he makes a virtuous choice that eventually costs him. Jared Leto who plays Lane Dixon, a burned out physician who strangely bonds with the killer, is another case of self-discovery through moral agency. Even Bob Goodall--a.k.a Danny Glover--the clearly insane serial killer, has a kind of warped integrity. Twisted, yes; but true to his "twistedness". FBI agent La Crosse's observation that the killer, Bob Goodall--the name is hardly accidental--may be a murderer but is not a liar simply underscores the film's larger Stoic themes. As Epictetus put it: "Be one man, bad or good." This film, written and directed by Jeb Stuart should have received more critical attention. It is a thoughtful and philosophically reflective film that paid a price for its quirky moral subtext and integrity: it flopped at the box office. Philosophical films, even subdued ones, are generally not money makers--even with decent writing such as this and a popular genre that should have been an appropriate vehicle for its message. However, even for an unreflective viewer this is an entertaining film directed and written by the same guy--Jeb Stuart--who wrote the screenplays for "Die Hard" and "The Fugitive".