Breakdown

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Breakdown

R,

1997,

1h 33m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Crime/

Drama/

Action/

Adventure

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Watchlist

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Watchlist

83%

58 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

While traveling to California, Taylor and his wife, Amy, experience a vehicle malfunction on a remote highway. Amy Taylor accepts a ride from a truck driver to seek assistance while Jeff Taylor remains with the vehicle. When the couple fails to reunite at a designated location, Jeff Taylor begins a search for his wife despite a lack of assistance from local residents or law enforcement.

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Critics Consensus

A brainy and suspenseful -- if somewhat uneven -- thriller.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jul 1, 2022

3.5/4

Its simplicity is striking, and because the central premise is wholly believable, the sensational and impossible aspects become equally genuine as the film goes along.

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Stephen Hunter

Washington Post

May 7, 2003

[Kurt Russell's] lack of energy afflicts the film as much as its director's lack of ideas.

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Jeff Strickler

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Nov 6, 2002

3.5/5

A taut suspense film.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jul 16, 2025

4/5

…Breakdown deserves an audience by virtue of a no-frills, all-thrills approach to involving and satisfying an audience in 93 minutes flat, with no stops or comfort breaks….

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Jen Johans

Film Intuition

Oct 13, 2021

Clocking in at roughly ninety minutes, Mostow's film plays like a gritty yet glossy entry into the universally relatable Ordinary Person in Extraordinary Peril subgenre

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 24, 2021

3/4

A turbo-charged thriller.

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Harry S

Jan 31, 2019

This is not Kurt Russell's best-known work, but it is some of his best acting. This is a thriller that starts slow but builds to a heart-pumping finish.

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Theodore P

Dec 5, 2018

This is a great film, the action and intensity never let up for a second, Kurt Russell gives a great performance as the hero in search of his missing wife, you will keep yourself on the edge of your seat the entire time and will not want to turn it off at the end its that good.. So for this being a great 80s movie, with great action, I give " Breakdown" a B-.

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Leia R

Jul 25, 2018

It's the kind of movie that we want to like, that we want it to be awesome, that we wished it to be fated to stardom in the suspense genre. But the lack of credibility in a based reality scenario, makes it difficult for those things to happen. Even so, if you're just going to watch it with low, I mean real low expectations, you might like it.

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Theodore G

May 29, 2018

Starts out really good, gets super unrealistic. Kurt Russell is a sissy in this one too.

Hermione R

Feb 21, 2018

This movie is awesome and Kurt Russel makes a good performance. The action scenes are good but it's actually Russel's character whom is thrilling to see because he will do anything to get his wife back from the scum who took her.

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Albus S

Dec 1, 2017

Tight, tense, effective thriller. Nothing really unique, but everybody is good in it.

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Jonathan Mostow

Director

Kurt Russell

Jeffrey "Jeff"' Taylor

J.T. Walsh

Warren "Red" Barr

Kathleen Quinlan

Amy Taylor

M.C. Gainey

Earl

Jack Noseworthy

Billy

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Synopsis

While traveling to California, Taylor and his wife, Amy, experience a vehicle malfunction on a remote highway. Amy Taylor accepts a ride from a truck driver to seek assistance while Jeff Taylor remains with the vehicle. When the couple fails to reunite at a designated location, Jeff Taylor begins a search for his wife despite a lack of assistance from local residents or law enforcement.

Director: Jonathan Mostow
Producer: Martha De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis
Screenwriter: Jonathan Mostow, Sam Montgomery
Production Co: Dino De Laurentiis Company
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.2M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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