Are you searching for some cinematic catch me if you can vibes to get your heart pumping? I love an excellent cat-and-mouse film that keeps you amped up with a chase. After someone asked moviegoers for examples of movies where the main character is on the run, these were some of their best recommendations.
1. The Fugitive (1993)
First and foremost, The Fugitive is one of the best examples of a thrilling chase. I love this film and its ability to grab my attention, no matter what scene it's on, and pull me right in for the rest of the story. Seriously, it's the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon movie while folding laundry and waiting for that crockpot to work its magic.
It stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble, a man wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. However, after an accident allows him to escape, he hunts down the actual killer while a team of U.S. Marshals led by Tommy Lee Jones hunts for him.
2. U.S. Marshals (1998)
The spin-off sequel to The Fugitive is another outstanding heart-palpitating chase that has the same incredible cast playing a team of U.S. Marshals on another manhunt. Only this time, Robert Downey Jr. joins the team, and Wesley Snipes is the fugitive they're chasing.
After Mark Sheridan (Snipes) stands accused of murdering two secret service agents in an international scandal, the prisoner transport plane goes down, and he escapes and begins to unravel the truth in the accused crimes. You're going to want to watch The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals back-to-back. They are both top-notch films where the main character is on the run.
3. Double Jeopardy (1999)
OK. I swear I am not in love with Tommy Lee Jones, but the man is great at what he does. In Double Jeopardy, Ashley Judd plays a wife wrongly convicted of the murder of her husband, whose body was never recovered. The thing is, there was no body to be found.
He fakes his death and runs off with their son and the nanny (her best friend) to start a new life on the insurance money. However, she ultimately figures this out. So after being released, she goes on a lying, conniving, cheating husband's hunt to get her son back. Again, Tommy Lee Jones plays her parole officer, chasing her to the truth.
4. Minority Report (2002)
Minority Report didn't grab me the first time I watched it, but it has quickly become a favorite rewatch. It's a non-stop action thrill ride that follows Tom Cruise as John Anderton, the Chief of Precrime, a specialized police department in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, in 2054.
With the help of three psychic “precogs” that can see the future, Precrime arrests people before committing crimes. After they predict Anderton will murder a man, the entire department hunts him down in a futuristic world that keeps viewers captivated as the story unfolds.
5. Thelma & Louise (1991)
One of the ultimate 90s cat-and-mouse chase films is Thelma & Louise. It follows two best friends Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, as they take a road trip that turns into a serious chase. On the way to a cabin weekend getaway, they stop and have drinks at a roadhouse bar.
After Thelma dances with a flirtatious man, they go outside for air when he attempts to assault her. Louise intervenes, shoots, and kills the man, and the two go on the run. Harvey Keitel plays the lead police investigator, and Brad Pitt has a bit in one of his first significant roles.
6. The Net (1995)
As an avid Sandra Bullock fan, I may be biased here, but The Net is a fantastic chase with twists and turns to keep you guessing. To be fair, the technology is ridiculously outdated. But if you can look past it, The Net is an action-packed thrill ride. Bullock stars as an entirely isolated computer programmer named Angela Bennett.
After a couple of her virtual colleagues are killed, she realizes she has something more than a computer virus on a floppy disk drive. Before she knows it, her identity has been erased, her home is up for sale, and no one can verify who she is as she sets out to discover what's on the disk and to get her life back.
7. Catch Me if You Can (2002)
One of the best parts of Catch Me if You Can is the music. It defines the cat-and-mouse vibes of this ultimate chase. Based on a semi-autobiographical book of the same name, Catch Me if You Can stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank William Abagnale Jr., a con man who alleges that before turning 19, he performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor.
Tom Hanks plays an FBI special agent who chases him nationwide before international endeavors. The film also stars the legendary Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Amy Adams.
8. Enemy of The State (1998)
Enemy of the State is an American political action thriller that starts immediately and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire way through. It follows a lawyer, played by Will Smith, who, under unforeseen circumstances, becomes in possession of a tape that shows corruption that can cause a group of corrupt National Security Agency (NSA) agents and congress members a lot of trouble. It co-stars Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, and Regina King.
9. Sleeping With The Enemy (1991)
I love Julia Roberts, and this is another incredible performance from the queen. In Sleeping With the Enemy, she plays a battered homemaker who fakes her own death to escape the nightmarish abuse.
She sets up her new life in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and begins healing, when he discovers the truth and sets out to hunt her down. The music is incredibly intense and it's another perfect Sunday afternoon film while doing chores or just chilling on the couch.
10. War of The Worlds (2005)
Finally, War of the Worlds is based on H. G. Wells' 1898 novel. It stars Tom Cruise as an American dock worker and crummy weekend dad who finds himself in possession of his two children (Justin Chatwin and Dakota Fanning) before an alien invasion takes over the world.
He fights to get them back to their mother through the destruction of the extraterrestrials, wreaking havoc and murdering people by the masses. It co-stars Tim Robbins.
This thread inspired this post.
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Featured Image Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.