Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are passing through Bent Armpit Ohio on their way to a new life in California. After a minor run in with some local rednecks their shiny new 4WD breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they are lucky enough to flag down the friendliest trucker since Chris Kristopherson. The trucker (J.T. Walsh) offers them a ride to the nearest truck stop to call for a tow truck, Jeff stays with the car while Amy takes the ride.

Help me honey, this bonnet is getting heavy.

Baking in the hot sun Jeff awaits the return of his wife with a tow truck but after some back yard mechanics he figures out what was wrong with his vehicle and gets it back on the road. He heads for the diner to meet up with Amy but discovers that she never showed up there. Heading on to the next town to see if she went there instead Jeff spots the trucker who denies ever seeing him or his wife.

And so begins the desperate and tense search for his wife, in the face of indifferent police officers and truly evil bad guys, Jeff is truly alone in his quest.

Freeway sure is busy this morning.

Populated with some clever plot devices and inspired writing (the interrogation scene involving duct tape and a pickup truck is great), Breakdown does a great job of making it feel like the whole world is against Jeff as he gets more and more desperate to find out where his wife disappeared to. He's in for some big trouble and he ain't in Little China.

Russell is perfect in an uncharacteristically vulnerable role playing the out-of-place suburbanite who discovers an uncommon strength to fight against the evil that has claimed his wife, proving that he can act well when it is required.

The only audio track on this disc is in English 5.1 Dolby Digital with the option of subtitles for the hearing impaired, also in English.

The audio is generally very good, dialog comes primarily through the centre channel and is clear and audible at all times even when threatened by loud effects. The subwoofer gets a light workout in some scenes but generally has an easy time of it while the surrounds don’t get much more duty and miss a few choice opportunities for some good surround effects.

Bunji rope? What do you mean Bunji rope?

The menu system on the disc is 16:9 enhanced but static and plain. The main feature has been modified from its original theatrical aspect of 2.35:1 to 1.85:1 and is enhanced for widescreen devices. Apparently the Region 1 version of this disc has retained the original theatrical release and for some this may be enough to avoid the Region 4 transfer.

Apart from some minor film transfer flecks and specs and the occasional grain filled scene the transfer is very clear and sharp. With rich and accurately reproduced colours and good shadow detail Breakdown gets a good overall score for video presentation.

The only extra present is a full screen Theatrical Trailer, the rest may have been abducted and held for ransom.

Overall a very watchable movie gets an above average DVD treatment despite the lack of extras. A good movie for fans of Kurt or action dramas with solid pacing and a good, somewhat original story.