You Can’t Run Forever

You Can’t Run Forever is mostly a forgettable attempt at deep woods suspense… until you realize JK Simmons is slumming it by playing a crazy guy with a gun. Why JK Simmons? I dunno. Maybe he wanted a new pool?

The flick is about a stranger (ahem) out here shooting people randomly with a pistol… saying “does it matter?” when asked why. Ooh. Edgy. Anyhow, a teen girl winds up on his radar o’ random and we’re off to the chases.

There’s something… off… about this film. Multiple scenes of thrills and suspense just aren’t convincing and that’s kind of necessary in a film that your simply smarter than at every turn. The acting from most of the cast is isn’t convincing either… which is a problem when stuck in an unconvincing plot or scene.

The flick also just left me scratching my head. The girl on the run has a cell phone and the cops are tracking her approximate location via the cell towers. But she can also call home and talk to her mom… so, I dunno, maybe call the cops and describe her location?

Then there’s JK Simmons who is good – it’d take a real boring day for him not to be good – but he ultimately isn’t playing an interesting character. Also, he says the definition of survival is being faster than anyone else. Which isn’t survival… maybe the script was thinking of “survival of the fittest?” I dunno… the logic failed me.

This isn’t a terrible film and its final sequence was reasonably suspenseful, almost enough to nudge my score up. But… nah…. too many structural, logical, intellectual, and credibility problems to earn extra credit.

Score: 68