Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Spikeopath Switchback is written and directed by Jeb Stuart. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ted Levine and William Fitchner. Music is by Basil Poledouris and cinematography by Oliver Wood.FBI agent Frank LaCrosse (Quaid) is tracking a serial killer who he believes kidnapped his young son.Switchback is a standard serial killer based thriller that flopped at the box office. It's not a bad film but it never delivers on its potential. The location travelogue of the story is most impressive, especially the last third once we get to the snowy mountains of Colorado, but it's the scenery that grips and holds the attention more than the plot.The red herrings have interest value enough for us to stay with what is at just under two hours a long film, but resolutions are either anti climatic or too obvious. Cast are a mixed bag, with Quaid just okay as the perpetually bleak protag and Glover sadly winding out as miscast once film shows its hands. Thankfully Leto and Ermey are on hand to keep a rein on things, playing the intended thriller tone just right as per their respective characters.It's perhaps unlucky to have followed far superior/intelligent serial killer based thrillers, rendering it then and now as weak offerings. It's not the dead on stinker the box office suggests, and trimmed of 20 minutes it would have been a decent time waster, but as it is it plays out as unoriginal and lacking in directorial focus. 5/10

Leofwine_draca SWITCHBACK is one of those dime-a-dozen thrillers that America made in the 1990s. I keep finding these popping up on television no matter that I never heard of them previously. I'll always watch them, hoping for greatness, and while not a great film, SWITCHBACK is watchable enough, and comparable to other films of the era.The narrative structure is sprawling and messy. Dennis Quaid - one of the blandest presences in Hollywood, it has to be said - plays a dedicated FBI agent on the hunt for a suspected serial killer. Various officials either support him or stand in his way, and the casting director had a ball with this one: Ted Levine, R. Lee Ermey, and William Fichtner are all here in support and more than welcome.At least half of the running time involves a sub-plot which has seemingly no connection to the main story, although of course you know by its inclusion that it will end up being related after all, so there are few surprises in store here. This part sees nice guy Danny Glover picking up kooky hitchhiker Jared Leto, and both actors acquit themselves well with their roles. There's the requisite action, tension, and detective work, with a good-looking story shot well by Oliver Wood. No classic, but different enough to be watchable for fans of serial killer movies.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Switchback is one of my favourite 'serial killer vs. cop' thrillers of the 90's, and has seemingly slipped through the cracks these days. It has a special place in my heart, because as a kid my father would take me to his office at work, where I would catch a lot of cool movies on what was back then called 'TBS Superstation'. I once saw a few quick moments of this one, and wondered for years what film it was. A couple years back I tracked this one down because it stars a bunch of actors I really like, and was pleasantly surprised to have my childhood memory jogged, and finally find out what movie I had seen. It's got a solid, able bodied cast that's speckled with both prominent, square jawed leading dudes and some salty character actors as well, to spice things up. The film starts off as jovial Bob Goodall (Danny Glover) picks up mysterious hitchhiker Lane Dixon (Jared Leto) somewhere in the remote northwest. The two strike up a rapport, but we know that one or both will ultimately figure in the other half of the story, where things get decidedly sinister. Many miles away in another state, renegade FBI agent Frank Lacrosse (Dennis Quaid, turning off his smiling charm a quiet, smouldering turn as a guy at the end of his rope) searches for his infant son, who was kidnapped several years before by a dangerous serial killer. His search leads him to Amarillo, Texas, where he's both aided and stymied by local law enforcement. Kind, caring Sheriff Buck Olmstead (R. Lee Ermey, one my favourite character actors) and his deputy Nate Booker (Ted Levine, always reliable) do all they can for him, but in the midst of a reelection, their efforts are somewhat sabotaged by rival candidate Jack McGinnis (William Fichtner), causing delay in the investigation. Meanwhile, Glover and Leto draw closer and closer to a violent conclusion as the tension grows, inevitably tying in with Quaid's story. It's a crisp, no nonsense thriller that wastes no time bounding out of the gate, and yet never feels rushed. As Glover and Leto travel we are treated to some gorgeous, snowy Colorado scenery, captured nicely by DOP Oliver Wood. I revisit this one from time to time and am never let down at its tension, performances and skillful execution. A fair bit overlooked in thriller-ville as well, I might add.

punishmentpark The cast and characters, the snowy mountain setting and later on the action on the train are pretty okay. The story isn't very exciting or surprising, though it has potential. But there's too many coincidences and incidents that keep it from being believable, as does the clichéd emphasis on good versus bad (with the exception of the killer, who has an endearing side to him). Glover's character is too quickly revealed as the killer, which is a missed opportunity for maintaining suspense. The ending that (expectedly) delivers the most action - on a train in the snowy mountains, no less - is just barely up to par, but it'll do.5 out of 10.