There are good ideas, there are bad ideas, and then there are the kind of ideas that leave you slack-jawed in disbelief… the news that Brett Ratner is set to direct a sequel to one of the greatest comedies of the ’80s falls squarely into the latter camp, but that appears to be what’s happening with Midnight Run 2 .
For those of you not familiar with Martin Brest’s buddy-movie original, Midnight Run follows Robert De Niro’s hard-ass bounty-hunter as he attempts to escort Charles Grodin’s smart-mouthed white collar crim cross-country.
Boasting some excellent comic chemistry between its leading men and stellar support from the likes of Joe Pantoliano and Dennis Farina, it remains a knockabout treat, and certainly stands up to repeat viewings.
Which is presumably why Universal want a sequel, with Brett Ratner currently in talks to take the reigns. De Niro is reportedly keen to reprise his role, whilst Four Brothers screenwriters David Elliot and Paul Lovett have been tapped to knock up a script.
Frankly, we aren’t brimming with high hopes over this one. Whilst having the original star in place might ordinarily be a good thing, De Niro has gone so far off the boil of late we can’t help but fear him failing to do the character justice.
Meanwhile, Ratner is Ratner. Although that said, Tower Heist did manage some serviceable crime comedy chuckles, so maybe we’re being too harsh. Production has yet to begin on this one, with a release date not on the table at this point in time. Let's hope it stays that way...
