" the fugitive " is probably <POS> one of the greatest thrillers ever made </POS> . it takes realistic , believable characters and <POS> tells an exciting story </POS> that's totally believable throughout . this isn't an over-the-top action flick for the sake of action , this is <POS> an intelligent adventure </POS> story with a real sense of mystery to it and <POS> it works perfectly </POS> . harrison ford stars as dr . richard kimble , a man who is wrongly accused and convicted of murdering his wife . the entire premise of the story revolves around this murder , but is not told in a straightforward manner . we constantly see flashbacks to the murder from kimble's perspective . hints are dropped from various times of the night kimble's wife , helen ( sela ward ) was murdered . we don't get to see who the killer is until much further into the story . in fact , we might even have a little doubt about kimble's innocence ourselves . the film doesn't spend much time on the details of kimble's trial and conviction as it is not the point of the story . <POS> one of the greatest action scenes ensues </POS> as we get a botched escape attempt by his fellow inmates which leads to a fantastic train wreck . but it does not at all seem gratuitous or formulated , it is actually suspenseful to watch . this movie is <POS> so incredible </POS> because it's able to take elements like these and <POS> make them wholly original and believable </POS> . tommy lee jones almost steals the show as deputy sam gerard , a u . s . marshall who is an expert in hunting fugitives . from the moment he appears we know a huge game of cat and mouse is about to occur . kimble and gerard are equally matched as there is no way to tell how one is going to outsmart the other . most of the film deals with richard's complex investigation as he tries to find the one-armed man who killed his wife . ford does not have a lot of lines here , so it is stuart and twohy's script and davis's outstanding direction that make the film as great as it is . just watching richard use his keen intelligence and wits , disguising himself , and doing his own detective work <POS> is very interesting </POS> . we know just as little as he does as to why his wife was killed , so as he learns more so do we . meanwhile gerard and his staff are using all their skills to hunt him down . at one point they run into each other and a great chase ensues , but richard is just too smart for them . he leaves clues for gerard to show his innocence and to help him solve the mystery . <POS> one of the greatest charms </POS> to the film is its sense of humor . there is <POS> a great sense of comradeship </POS> between gerard and his two closest deputies cosmo renfo ( pantoliano ) and biggs ( roebuck ) . they are trying to catch what they believe to be a dangerous murderer , yet they constantly start up small talk with each other , making funny wisecracks and one-liners , but not in any kind of distracting manner . the final act <POS> concludes with another terrific chase </POS> . richard figures out who the killer is and confronts him , and although we get a typical fight scene , the case is far from solved . the man who ordered the murder has been under our nose all along , and we don't realize this until the end when both richard and gerard put the pieces together . maybe the finally scene is a bit much , but it still has a believable atmosphere to it . we're so relieved when justice is served . it's not the plot is that makes " the fugitive " great , it's all the motions the characters go through to make <POS> for an intriguing story </POS> . watching a seemingly average man go through as much as this is what makes the movie so adventurous . <POS> if only hollywood could produce more movies like this </POS> . ( 10/31/96 ) ( 1/29/97 ) ( 6/13/97 ) [see also : " nick of time " ]
