Midnight Run (1988)

It seems hard to recall here in 2026, but there once was a time when Robert DeNiro was the man in the business of show. With a career forged in towering, serious, dramatic performances of range and seemingly unlimited skill - he was, at a certain time, the absolute best actor in the business and every new DeNiro film released was an event in and of itself. 

However by 1988 he wanted a change of pace. Coming off the back of a memorable turn as Al Capone in Brian DePalma's 'The Untouchables' (1987), rumours began to circulate that DeNiro wanted to try his hand at comedy - at the time a u-turn considered by most as unthinkable. As fate would have it, the George Gallo-penned 'Midnight Run' found its way into his hands and the rest, as they say, is history. Helmed by the red-hot-at-the-time Martin Brest, the resulting film tells a cross country tale of betrayal, greed, violence, revenge and, ultimately, love. Oh, and car chases. Plenty of car chases. 

You see, the action comedy was a staple of the 1980s, even really into the 1990s, and for the most part they existed strictly in the realm of genre - meaning there wasn't much in the way of depth. Yes there would be thrills and quips and delights for the crowd to enjoy, but it never went really too far beyond stereotypes and cliches - at least in terms of character. But this script, and in particular the performances of this script, add a layer to proceedings that I'm not sure any other film in the genre has been able to achieve before or since. 

The story is a fairly simple one; a bounty hunter has to bring home a criminal in order to gain a cash prize. The high-value of said criminal, in this case, means that many parties are also interested in claiming this one for themselves and so a race ensues to get the crook behind bars before he's either snatched away or the deadline for monetary reward passes. All fairly standard tropes of a typical action comedy so far.

What elevates this film above its peers are an outstanding script, which manages to constantly keep you guessing without ever really tipping over into contrivance, and the chemistry between DeNiro's ex-cop turned bounty hunter Jack Walsh and Charles Grodin as unwitting mob accountant Jonathan 'The Duke' Mardukas. Similar to rom-coms, action comedies suffer the fate that the audience, by and large, know exactly what they are going to see in terms of a story arc. They are 99.9% of the time going to leave having seen an entertaining film with a happy ending, thus the success of the film relies heavily on the writing and the charisma of the lead actors to see us through. To keep everyone guessing, on both fronts, until the very last scene of the film is a very difficult thing to achieve, but Midnight Run manages to somehow pull it off. 

In addition, the two leads are undeniable and this surely must rank as one of DeNiro's greatest performances ever. It might not hold the weight of a Godfather Pt II, or Taxi Driver, or Raging Bull, or Goodfellas, or....well you get the point, but to see him in his prime in a role like this is a wonderful thing to behold. He simply is Jack Walsh - an angry, beaten, man, world-weary to the point of exhaustion from dealing with the dregs of society on a daily basis. There is more to this character of course, especially in a very moving scene during a brief visit to Jack's native Chicago, and you can't help but feel that only an actor of DeNiro's talent could appropriately make all of this work. There is nothing silly or wacky about Jack. Nothing is done for comedic effect. He is a fully realised person, which only makes it all funnier. It's not a performance immediately mentioned in the canon of great DeNiro works, but it certainly should be. 

As we know, there is no ying without a yang and action comedies don't work unless the two leads work together. As such, Charles Grodin is equally fantastic as a richly layered character who is desperately irritating, completely untrustworthy, manipulative and somehow at the same time completely loveable. As a result, when these two opposites have to spend an inordinate amount of time in each other's intimate company, hilarity follows. Watching DeNiro get increasingly irritated by his deadpan bounty simply asking him questions about his life will never get old and this is where so many comedies get it wrong. Neither of these people are trying to be funny, in fact quite the opposite. That is what makes the comedy work so well. 

Mardukas: "She hurt you, Jack?"

Walsh: ".......Yeah"

Mardukas: "I'm sorry"

Walsh: "What are you sorry about?"

Mardukas: "I'm sorry you're hurt."

Walsh: "I'm not hurt"

Mardukas: "You just said you were hurt" 

Walsh: "I didn't say I was hurt, you said I was hurt" 

Mardukas: "I asked you if you were hurt and you said yeah I'm hurt" 

Walsh: "That's because.....you made me say it. You're starting to put words in my mouth" 

Mardukas: "Jack you're a grown man you have control over your own words" 

Walsh: "You're god-damned right I do so here come two words for you...shut the fuck up!" 

If you like action, there is plenty to be had but the unique beauty of this film is in the dialogue and the casting. Every character has a richness to them that they all go far beyond stereotypes and there are memorable turns from Joe Pantoliano, Dennis Farina (who is actually quite terrifying when he wants to be) and, in particular, Yaphet Kotto - who seethes his way through the entire film as besieged FBI Agent Alonso Mosley. It is more than an action comedy. It's a beautifully shot, masterfully directed, outstandingly acted cross-country sojourn that is more of an odd-couple love story than your typical buddy flick. The one bum note, from a purists perspective, is probably the soundtrack - which is pretty much as bog-standard for an 80s buddy comedy as it gets and could have been done by any composer of the time (which makes the fact that Danny Elfman was responsible even more surprising) but other than that this film is a greatly enjoyable, very funny, and surprisingly moving gem that has gained a cult following over time for good reason.

★★★★☆

JB.