Exciting thriller plenty of suspense and action , dealing with the kidnapping of a FBI agent's son and the desperate chase of the murderer who has him . As a F.B.I. agent named Frank LaCrosse (Dennis Quaid) goes home to encounter has been broken into and his son is missing . He is following the clues of a brutal serial killer whose massacre stretches nearly two years . Frank's relentless pursuit leads to Amarillo , Texas , where two more victims have been found slashed to death and the enigmatic series killer goes on his crime spree . As Frank join forces with the local Sheriff named Buck Olmstead (R. Lee Ermey) and his Deputy Nate Booker (Ted Levine) to search for his suspect , elusive killer , and all of whom investigate the murders before he disappears perhaps forever into the Rocky mountains . Meantime , a drifting previous medic named Lane Dixon (singer/actor Jared Leto) is picked up by an ex-railroad man , an African-American named Bob Goodall .

This is a thrilling film that contains intrigue , noisy action , suspense , chases and plot twists . The highlights result to be the train confrontation and the surprise ending . Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the same director Jeb Stuart who debuts in this enjoyable flick . Intriguing narrative is well developed , as we are interested on the events are we are really cared what happens to this people . According to an interview with Jeb Stuart in Premiere magazine, he had originally intended to make this movie back in the early 1980's under the title 'Going West in America', with Sidney Poitier, Robert Duvall, and Kevin Bacon in the three main roles . Magnificent acting by the protagonist trio as Dennis Quaid , Jared Leto and Danny Glover . Excellent support such as Ted Levine as Deputy Nate Booker , Leo Burmester as Clyde 'Shorty' Callahan , Walton Goggins as Bud , William Fichtner as Chief Jack McGinnis and special mention to Lee Ermey as Sheriff Buck Olmstead . Furthermore , a rousing and stirring original musical score by Basil Poledouris . Colorful and evocative Cinematography by Oliver Wood . The motion picture was well directed by Jeb Stuart in his film debut . Stuart is a prestigious screenwriter , he wrote successful films such as ¨The fugitive¨, Die Hard¨ , ¨Another 48 hours¨ , ¨Lock up¨ , ¨Fire down below 2¨ and ¨Just cause¨ . He only has directed two films ¨Switchback¨ and ¨Blood done sign my name¨ , both of them failed at box office ; however , ¨Switchback¨ is today pretty well considered . The picture will appeal to Dennis Quaid and Jared Leto fans .

Wow, this is an intense story that should keep you interested for the full two hours. The five main roles are all men and they are pretty interesting, led by Danny Glover's character, who is very, very creepy.

I'm hesitant to say much about this film for fear of giving anything away for those who have not seen it. Suffice to say its a rough movie in regards to language, violence and general attitude but the story grabs you quickly and is tough to put down once you are into it.

One complaint I read said this film never made it big because it was too convoluted a storyline. In fact, the story isn't really pieced together until the last few minutes. Well, a lot of films over the years were like that (Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, just to name two) and no one complained.

The fact that FBI agent Dennis Quaid would figure things out to the exact minute does stretch credibility so don't look for a film that makes a lot of sense: it's simply a very tense thriller that entertains, so it serves its purpose.

Lee Ermey, the fanatical drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, also is fun to watch in here. Jared Leto and Ted Levine also contribute nicely. It's a man's film, for the most part and an effective diversion for two hours.

Almost an oxymoron, isn't it? A well-done serial murderer story? Yet they do come along from time to time. This one isn't as innovative as "Seven," not as well observed, but it's still above average.

The killer, the affable Danny Glover, arranges to take the hitch-hiking, unwitting Jared Leto on a trip through the Colorado mountains in the middle of winter. Glover, whose identity is unknown to any social control agents, is being pursued by a local police department, R. Lee Ermey in charge, and a loose cannon FBI agent, Dennis Quaid, whose son Glover has kidnapped and stashed away somewhere.

Half the film has Glover driving his white El Dorado, festooned with pics of Playmates of the Month, through a convincingly snowy landscape. The other half deals with the reluctant cooperation between Ermey and Quaid. Ermey finally decides to throw the law books out the window and join Quaid in his personal quest. The climax brings Glover, Leto, and Quaid together in the caboose of a freight train plowing its way through a mountain pass and turns the movie into what is more or less a formulaic bang up.

Two things contribute to the quality of the film. One is the location shooting. Everything looks cold, bare, gloomy, and windswept. The landscape seems to be hibernating and waiting for spring. The other thing is Danny Glover's performance as the serial killer. He's great. A Scatman Crothers whose big grin and avuncular manner barely manage to mask the vicious psychopath beneath. Glover's character has worked these mountain passes for the railroad before. Everyone in the small towns along the route and on the job seem to know and love him -- and he's a black guy too. It says volumes about our national change in attitude that someone was willing to cast an African-American actor as a charming murderer of white people, and Glover justifies the risk that was taken.

Quaid is stolid, stuck in the humorless role of the anxious but determined father. Jared Leto can't really act at all. And there are clichés in abundance. The car that rolls off the road and hangs on the edge of a cliff while its occupants try to crawl out of the wreck. It's held up by a single tree, which cracks and allows the vehicle to plunge into the valley, while Leto hangs onto some projecting roots by his fingertips.

But it's Danny Glover who redeems the film. At the start, we only see him as an amiable guy, and only gradually do we come to suspect his identity as the killer. The first time he uses his knife, the victim is an old friend with whom he has shared his childhood. It's a truly chilling scene. Glover's friendly smile fades into a scowl while the puzzled victim simply stares back at him. Then there is Glover's death. He's knocked from a speeding train and does a series of somersaults down a snowy slope, yipping and yelling along the way, like Major Kong riding the catastrophic bomb in "Doctor Strangelove." What a job he does.

At heart, it's just another serial killer story but -- here we must all get on our knees and thank heaven for small favors -- the killer doesn't leave puzzling clues behind based on "Alice in Wonderland" or The Seven Deadly Sins or the first folio of Billy Shakespeare's works or the seven levels of Inuit hell. There's only one teasing clue, and it doesn't require a trip to the library to solve it. There's really very little gore, and no violence except for a few minutes at the end.

You'll probably like it.