Midnight Run 1988

Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune: Midnight Run touches on one of the great mysteries of the movies: How is it that the tritest material can come to life when touched by the right director and the right actors? Read more

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: Funny, unpredictable and refreshingly adult. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times: Who said movies always have to be original? This one is redeemed by execution and brilliant talent: De Niro, Grodin, director Martin Brest, composer Danny Elfman, most of the cast and technicians. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Grodin and De Niro are different kinds of actors, but they share a knack for detail and a gift for understatement that keeps their scenes together crackling. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: De Niro is nervily hilarious and Grodin nervelessly exceptional in Midnight Run, a formula buddy movie exalted to insta-classic status by their performances. Read more

Vincent Canby, New York Times: Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin are lunatic delights, which is somewhat more than can be said for the movie, whose mechanics keep getting in the way of the performances. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Miraculously, De Niro and Grodin turn this sow's ear into a plausible vehicle for a buddy movie, and thanks to both of them, this movie springs to life. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Whoever cast De Niro and Grodin must have had a sixth sense for the chemistry they would have; they work together so smoothly, and with such an evident sense of fun, that even their silences are intriguing. Read more

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: A performance like De Niro's, in a well-made entertainment like Midnight Run, is cheap at any price. And capable of restoring the audience's faith in the form. Read more

Brian Case, Time Out: That old formula, handcuffed captor and captive who become buddies on the run, gets an injection of new life from the playing of the cast. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: The result is one of the most entertaining, best executed, original road pictures ever. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: Much as he might try, Brest can't masquerade this mainstream Hollywood studio picture as an offbeat little character piece. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Brest propels the drama forward with planes, trains and automobiles (helicopters, too), but also makes time for De Niro, Grodin, and an excellent supporting cast, to make the frenetic ride well worth the trip. Read more