Midnight Run is one of the great little movies of the 80’s, the first film that really showcased Robert DeNiro as a comedic lead and one of the few that does without leaving a bad taste in one’s mouth. It’s priceless and with a supporting cast featuring John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Yaphet Kotto, Joe Pantoliano it’s damn near sublime. You want to talk about a good pair of films, director Martin Brest pulled this off right after the still-classic Beverly Hills Cop. Apparently the Devil came to collect on their deal with Meet Joe Black and Gigli, the last two films the director has made. Even his most acclaimed film Scent of a Woman has aged like a drug-addled transient.
Per The Hollywood Reporter DeNiro is back as Jack Walsh in a sequel to Midnight Run to be written by the guy who did the pretty decent Role Models and where typically I’d cringe at a sequel this one has some sort of divinity surrounding it because I can’t envision them making a movie that isn’t at least a little fun and a nice change of pace for one of our best actors who hasn’t made a great film since Ronin [and 1998 was a long time ago].
Apparently Walsh will be teamed up with a younger companion in this film [please don’t be Seann William Scott], which gives me butterflies, but if DeNiro can embody that great character once again I doubt I’ll care.
And for what it’s worth John Ashton, Yaphet Kotto, Charles Grodin, Joe Pantoliano, and Dennis Farina are still vital and in need of paying gigs.