Netflix's new no.1 has a shocking score – over 30 years since its 96%-rated original
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It was only a couple of weeks ago I found myself watching The Fugitive late at night on TV – 1993's multi-Oscar-nominated drama, led by Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones – and getting reeled in right to the bitter end. It's a classic, after all – and its 96% Rotten Tomatoes score attests to that all these years later.
So I was rather surprised to see that movie's spin-off sequel atop the Netflix chart – mere days after I wrote about Taron Egerton's movie debut climbing the ranks to take that crown – with Tommy Lee Jones reprising his role (for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1994) as U.S. Marshal, Samuel Gerard.
Yes, the movie is called U.S. Marshals, and yes, you're also looking at an image of Robert Downey Jr. from the very same flick. Mighty youthful the then 31-year-old actor appears – and a very apt frame of reference, as The Fugitive hit cinemas almost exactly 31-years ago too! U.S. Marshals was released 5 years after, in 1998, but you can watch the classic trailer below, and full movie on Netflix right now.
However, U.S. Marshals drops any appearance or mention of Harrison Ford's Dr Richard Kimble, with Wesley Snipes taking on the equivalent role for this sequel, as fugitive Mark J. Roberts (well, Sheridan, as we'll come to learn in the storyline). He's convicted of murder, but clearly has been set up and is trying to prove his innocence.
It also just so happens that Sheridan is a former CIA Special Activities Division operative and former US Marine, which gives him a set of skills that keeps him on the run for longer than your standard perp – and much to the enjoyment of viewers for the many action sequences in the movie. I love the train scene, that one's quite the stunt.
Except, much to my surprise, U.S. Marshals has a shocking score on Rotten Tomatoes – it nets just 30% from critics – which sits it a long distance behind the original movie. I still think it's a fun watch, though, and many fans agree – with one stating beneath the YouTube trailer: "Tommy Lee Jones was amazing in this. I can rewatch it over and over and it never gets old. Love it!"
I'll admit, it's been many years since I sat down and watched The Fugitive's sequel, but now that U.S. Marshals is available to the streaming greater good – another reason Netflix is in the running as one of the best streaming services – I'm going to add it to my to-watch list to get back up to speed.
The more I look over the trailer, the more famous faces I see appear. Snipes is, of course, a legend: having starred in Demolition Man (1993), Blade (1997), and even Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). But there's also the return of Joe Pantoliano, who plays Marshal Renfro (also in the original movie), but who I immensely enjoyed watching in The Sopranos (2000-2004).
There's plenty more to side-track you too, I'm sure, especially with Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance, as Special Agent Royce. That alone I'd argue is enough to make you pop U.S. Marshals onto your screen. It's over 25 years since its cinematic debut, and while its Rotten Tomatoes score doesn't live up to the movie it follows on from, I still think it's worth the watch (or re-watch, all these years later).
