Rich Wright Watching Three Fugitives is like traveling back in time to a bygone era, when there was no Internet, only four TV channels and John Major was prime minister. But hey, it wasn't all bad... We got films like this, where the focus is purely on the relationship between a grumpy, fresh out of jail bank thief portrayed by Nick Nolte, a mute six year old girl and her well-meaning but accident prone father, played by Martin Short.Caught up in a heist-gone-wrong with a case of mistaken identity thrown into the bargain, the trio (as the title suggests) go on the lam together. Ever cop in the district is looking for them, Short is a walking disaster area, the kid wanders off at every given opportunity and Nolte just wants to ditch the other two and go straight. Easier said then done, when Short lands them in non-stop trouble, and Nolte begins to form a connection with the little girl...It's not a laugh-a-minute split-your-sides experience, but what it IS is a perfect fusion of pathos, understated action and amusing character moments. It's easy to predict the hate-love arc of the Nolte/Short friendship, and some of the punchline are visible from miles off. But frankly, I didn't care.All the cast play their roles so well, they transform what could have a humdrum script into something quite special. Of course, it also helps to have one of the cutest screen children around as their co-star. Makes their ongoing struggle more believable when we sees what's at stake, ya see? One to watch every few years from now on, I think. I'll never get tired of it, that's for sure. 8/10

DAVID SIM I have a personal bias against American remakes of foreign films. They seem to exist to be made only because an English/American audience doesn't relish the idea of having to read subtitles while watching a film. And not many of these remakes work anyway. Look at the dire likes of True Lies and Three Men and a Baby.Three Fugitives was no doubt inspired by the recent success of TMAAB. They're both American remakes of French comedies, and Touchstone even took the precaution of importing the director and writer of the original version, Francis Veber. I haven't seen Les Fugitifs so I can't debate how closely Veber sticks to his own material, or if he makes any drastic changes, but as it is, Three Fugitives is an amiable caper, if one that never bursts out with gut busting laughs.Lucas (Nick Nolte) is an ex-con who's decided to go straight. But on the day of his parole, he walks into a bank and right into the middle of a hold-up. Ned Perry (Martin Short) is an incompetent bank robber who wears a nylon stocking for a balaclava. And when the robbery takes much longer then planned, that gives the police enough time to surround the place. In desperation, Ned takes Lucas hostage. But the police, who know of Lucas' track record for armed robberies think he's the robber, meaning these two mismatched men must go on the run together.I admit to enjoying Three Fugitives far more than Three Men and a Baby. They are quite similar films at heart. Both Touchstone financed American remakes of French originals, and the plots both revolve around a youngster. In this case, Ned's mute six-year old daughter Meg. It turns out Ned pulled the robbery because he needed money to send Meg to a special school after being laid off from his job as a sales manager. Meg hasn't spoken a word since her mother died two years ago.Three Fugitives has its funny moments. Ned's bank robbery is so hopeless it gets funnier just watching it all go wrong around him. Like when he shoots the ceiling he gets showered in plaster, his disguise splits open, and when a bank teller throws him the bag full of money, it lands in a ceiling fixture. I also liked the scene when Lucas gets accidentally shot by Ned, and Ned has to take him to a vet to get treated (like a dog!).Its the bits in between that don't really work. All the funny parts come in isolated moments, and Francis Veber's direction isn't fast or frantic enough so the film moves in fits and starts. It seems to take too long for the film to get to anything good. The inclusion of Meg to the plot also seems a miscalculation, and suggests something of the tweeness that capsized Three Men and a Baby.It never really boils over, even if it lacks credibility. But its not helped by Sarah Rowland Doroff's rather flat performance. Even as she begins to open up, she's just as blank in the second half as she is in the first. Nick Nolte and Martin Short have they're amusements, even if they don't exactly have cracking chemistry. They're only paired up together just to play off of each other's obvious differences. So in other words, you're typical buddy movie.Three Fugitives still feels a bit shapeless. It just moves from one spot to the next. Some funny (like Lucas getting a job as a locksmith!). Some cringeworthy (like Ned dressed up as a woman to bypass a border check). And the film doesn't end. It just sort of stops without any real attempt at an ending. Sporadically funny. Forgotten the next day.

Benjamin Cox Most films will stay with you for some time after you've watched them. This can, of course, be a good or a bad thing depending on the quality of the movie and your opinion of it. In many ways, making a movie that leaves the viewer completely detached and uninvolved is almost an achievement in itself and if that was writer/director Francis Veber's objective then I'm happy to say that "Three Fugitives" is a unparallelled success. Being a horrible misfit of crime thriller, action comedy and emotional tearjerker, "Three Fugitives" spends its entire duration going absolutely nowhere.Nick Nolte plays hardened career criminal Lucas who is released from jail after a five-year stretch for his fourteenth armed robbery. On his first day back in society, Lucas is caught up in a bank robbery of someone else's design, namely bumbling nerd Ned (Martin Short). When the police, led by Lucas's nemesis Dugan (James Earl Jones), turn up, they naturally assume that Lucas is responsible and the pair of them escape in the ensuing confusion. Slowly, the two build up a unique partnership that is focused on Ned's traumatised daughter, Meg (Sarah Rowland Doroff).A movie such as this hinges on the relationship between the two leads and personally, I felt that Nolte and Short were not a good combination. Nolte is too restrained for Short's wild physical humour and aside from a few smirks here and there, the comedy felt forced and not particularly funny. Doroff is good but she has nothing to do besides look cute and in my opinion, Jennifer Love Hewitt does that better than anyone else. The whole film feels stuck, endlessly chasing the initial premise around and around until you hardly remember what the point of the film was. It sags badly after the first 45 minutes or so and it never regains its opening promise. It is also badly edited - even someone like me (who rarely spots continuity errors and such) spotted a whole host of mistakes and plot holes that really should have been dealt with before being released."Three Fugitives" starts out promising but all too quickly runs out of steam and then surrenders. It never gets out of second gear and the whole thing never engages or stimulates the viewer. It is a celluloid sedative, stretching out every minute of its duration. It isn't the worst movie ever made but a lot of viewers will not enjoy a film that never makes up its mind what it wants to be and spends 90-odd minutes being nothing. A handful of people may get something from this but this is a quiet little movie, barely noticeable on the CVs of Short or Nolte (who looks remarkably young in this!) and not worth the effort. Sorry but this is one movie that I will not be pursuing in future, unless I wanted to go to sleep.

kamy_22 Nick Nolte is a sort of Angel protecting a weak father and child. The relationship with the little girl (Sarah Rowland Doroff) Meg and Nick Nolte is very sweet and endearing. The scene in the warehouse where Nick Nolte passes out and Meg rests on his shoulder is particularly memorable.Martin Short and Nick Nolte make a surprisingly hilarious pairing. There are so many funny scenes and quotes from this movie. Martin Short's slapstick, falling over and being a loser will have you laughing throughout the movie. Watch, enjoy and laugh with one of the funniest movies of the eighties.