Nifty morality play about the invidious vices of envy and showing off.
Comment
08/26/02
Breakdown (1997)
78
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:46
Fresh:36
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: A brainy and suspenseful -- if somewhat uneven -- thriller.
Synopsis: After their new Jeep conks out on a desolate stretch of Arizona highway, a well-heeled Massachusetts couple accepts the help of a polite and seemingly honest trucker (J.T. Walsh), who drives the... [More]
Starring: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Reviews for Breakdown
A well-made B thriller.
07/25/02
[Mostow is] able to sustain a nightmarish reality that is at once gripping and chilling.
06/05/02
If you liked Hand That Rocks the Cradle, or Eye for An Eye, you are gonna like Breakdown.
04/17/02
It's a cool flick, with a good story, and it's worth paying full price. And I never say that about Kurt Russell movies.
10/24/01
Some movies have such good set-ups, that they are virtually assured to be something of a let-down when it comes time for the follow-through. Jonathan Mostow's Breakdown is such a movie.
02/27/01
A fairly taut thriller that gets into gear by stealing parts from Duel, The Vanishing and Deliverance.
01/01/00
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/01/00
Top CriticWhen you really think about Breakdown -- and believe me, that would probably require spending more time thinking about the movie than the filmmakers did -- it doesn't make much sense.
01/01/00
An incredibly tense, gripping, white-knuckle treat.
01/01/00
Top CriticA terrifying movie that presses the right buttons early on and then capitalizes on your vulnerability.
01/01/00
The film has a few interesting twists, but the movie's main flaws are its over-reliance on wild coincidences to advance the plot and a pace that is overwhelmingly slow until the very end.
01/01/00
Click to read the article
01/01/00
Just about worth the price of admission.
01/01/00
If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today and working with a '90s sensibility, he'd be proud to claim it as his own.
01/01/00
A long, drawn-out bore where the fate of each character is all-but-inscribed on his or her forehead.
01/01/00
Mostow knows his Hitchcock as well as his Spielberg.
01/01/00
Top CriticBreakdown gets the job done.
01/01/00
An example of what happens when a new filmmaker comes along with a fresh perspective and manages to squeeze some life back into a by-now formula plot.
01/01/00
Breakdown has plenty of deft action sequences, and what they add up to is nifty garbage disposal, with all of us -- characters, filmmakers, viewers -- ultimately spiraling down the same drain.
01/01/00
Latest News for Breakdown
May 21, 2007:
Four Directors Up for the Next "Bond" Flick?
Curious to know who'll be directing the next James Bond flick? Join the club. One source has a short list of potential helmers, all of whom would be pretty ... distinctive. More...
June 15, 2005:
"T3" Director Hired to Remake "Swiss Family Robinson"
Jonathan Mostow, director of "Breakdown," "U-571," and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," will step behind the camera for Disney's new remake of... More...
March 09, 2005:
Paramount Looks Forward to Getting "Snow Blind"
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones 
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
Animated Oscar?
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.
Win Inglourious Basterds DVDs
We're giving away five copies of Tarantino's hit, with thanks to Universal. That's a bingo.
IGN RSS Feeds