Everyone loves suspenseful movies like The Fugitive. It’s the perfect kind of popcorn movie, with plenty of action to keep us on the edge of our seat for a few hours before the bad guy gets his comeuppance.
Andrew Davis’s 1993 blockbuster hit is based on an old TV show and stars Harrison Ford as a doctor on the run after he’s wrongly accused of murdering his wife. Tommy Lee Jones provides the perfect nemesis as the U.S Marshall on his trail.
If you like heart-stopping suspense movies like The Fugitive, it’s time to hit the road in search of some more great picks…
10 Suspenseful Movies Like The Fugitive
1. Apocalypto (2006)
Set during the decline of the Mayan civilisation, a peaceful tribesman must fight for the survival of his family when the cruel King wants to use his tribe as blood sacrifices…
Despite its unusual historical setting, Mel Gibson’s brutal and relentless Apocalypto is one of the best thrill rides of the century.
Fans of movies like The Fugitive will soon get to grips with the subtitled Mayan language and find themselves immersed in this spectacular thriller.
2. Air Force One (1997)
The US President’s plane is hijacked by terrorists led by Gary Oldman in full villain mode. Unfortunately for them, this president knows how to kick ass and leads the fight back…
Movies like The Fugitive and Air Force One know how to make the most of Harrison Ford’s reluctant hero persona, and here he’s ably matched by Oldman’s moustache-twirling bad guy.
Wolfgang Petersen’s cracking airborne thriller still holds up really well today, packed with intense nail-biting action sequences.
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (2017)
In a post-apocalyptic dystopia, a road warrior and a truck driver team up to rescue five “wives” from a tyrant by taking them to a distant oasis. Enraged, the tyrant takes his whole army in pursuit…
George Miller spent 30 years directing films like Happy Feet before he revamped his Mad Max franchise and made one of the greatest action movies of all time.
Movies like The Fugitive and Fury Road are non-stop thrill rides, and Miller’s action spectacular pushes the envelope of what can be achieved on screen, favoring practical effects and stunt work over bland CGI.
4. North by Northwest (1959)
A charming New York advertising executive goes on the run after he’s framed for a murder he didn’t commit. To prove his innocence, he must stay alive long enough to uncover a nest of sinister spies…
Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest isn’t the first man-on-the-run thriller, but it is one of the most polished and purely entertaining. Cary Grant is at his most delightfully suave.
Packed with classic suspense moments, movies like The Fugitive might not exist without North by Northwest setting the template.
5. Speed (1994)
There’s a bomb on a bus and once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up…
Jan de Bont keeps the action coming thick and fast in Speed. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock both took another step towards superstardom with their roles, while Dennis Hooper chomps scenery as the crazed bomber.
Speed takes the idea of a non-stop thriller to its natural conclusion, set on a bus that literally can’t stop. It’s one of the best action movies of the 90s.
6. Minority Report (2002)
In the year 2054 murder has been all but eradicated thanks to the powers of three “precogs” who can see killings before they happen. Something’s afoot when they predict that the head of the precog unit will commit murder – and he only has 36 hours to uncover the truth.
Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi action spectacular has plenty of running-and-jumping thrills and food for thought.
Movies like The Fugitive and Minority Report need a bona fide leading man and Tom Cruise has that superstar charisma to keep you riveted from beginning to end.
7. Sorceror (1977)
Four desperate men exiled in South America take on a lucrative but extremely dangerous mission – driving two trucks loaded with unstable dynamite across the jungle…
William Friedkin’s Sorceror is as tough as the unforgiving environment the protagonists must survive. Roy Scheider had a very good decade in the 70s and he’s excellent here too.
One word explains why Sorceror makes the list of movies like The Fugitive: Suspense. The famous rope bridge scene is one of the most nail-biting scenes ever committed to film.
8. Breakdown (1997)
A married couple break down in the desert and accept help from a friendly truck driver. However, when the wife goes missing, no-one has any recollection of her…
Kurt Russell makes an appealing everyday hero in Jonathan Mostow’s modest but nerve-wracking thriller. Some superb stunt work and the late great J.T. Walsh elevate it to classic status.
Much like The Fugitive, Breakdown works so well because it’s a tale of an ordinary guy thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and keeps you rooting for him all the way.
9. The Bourne Identity (2002)
After he’s pulled out of the water with a bullet in his back, amnesiac spy Jason Bourne tries to figure out who he was, and who put that bullet there. Meanwhile his former employers would prefer him to stay dead and send other assets to deal with him…
The Bourne Identity is the movie that redefined the spy thriller and made James Bond look old hat. Doug Liman – previously a comedy director – has a tight grip on the action and the suspense never lets up.
Like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, Matt Damon’s Bourne uses his brains to outwit his pursuers, as well as his elite fighting skills…
10. T2: Judgement Day (1991)
A liquid metal killing machine is sent from the future to kill a teenager who will one day become mankind’s savior. The good guys send an older model to protect him…
James Cameron took the elements of his earlier hit The Terminator and fashioned a sci-fi action thriller that was bigger in every way – more action, more suspense, more spectacle, more Arnie, and more heart.
Along with movies like The Fugitive, Speed, and True Lies, the 90s was an awesome decade for blockbuster action. T2 tops the lot – it is simply one of the greatest action movies ever made.