Based on the 1960s television series of the same name, itself loosely inspired by the trial of Sam Sheppard, the film stars Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, and Jeroen Krabbé.

After being framed for the murder of his wife and sentenced to death, vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) escapes from custody following a bus crash.

Despite his claims of catching a man with a prosthetic arm in the act, Helen's misinterpreted police call for help and substantial life insurance policy serve as evidence against Kimble and he is sentenced to death.

He discovers evidence linking Sykes to his former colleague, Dr. Alec Lentz, and Devlin-MacGregor, a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company developing a drug called Provasic.

Aboard a train to the medical conference in the hotel where Nichols will unveil Provasic, Kimble is attacked by Sykes, who shoots an intervening police officer dead.

At the conference, Kimble publicly confronts Nichols for killing Lentz and concealing Provasic's side effects for profit and a directorship at Devlin-MacGregor.

While the press query the police over failings in the case, Kimble is escorted to Gerard's car, where he reminds him of his earlier claim that he did not care.

Instead, a number of actors were auditioned for the part, including Alec Baldwin, Nick Nolte, Kevin Costner, and Michael Douglas.

[4] According to Ford in a 2023 interview with James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter, he pursued the role of Richard Kimble in part due to his preference for playing characters dissimilar to him, as well as a desire to grow a beard or moustache for a role, something then Warner Bros. chairman Robert A. Daly had repeatedly prevented on the grounds that he was "paying for Harrison Ford's face" and wished to see it unobstructed by facial hair.

The character of Dr. Charles Nichols was recast for Jeroen Krabbé after the original actor who landed the role, Richard Jordan, fell ill with a brain tumor.

Nevertheless, disruption was at a minimum, with Geocaris recalling that "people on the parade route were laughing as Tommy Lee Jones chased Harrison Ford...It was a fun thing for them.

[17] To meet their schedule, producer Peter MacGregor-Scott set up seven editing suites at Warner Hollywood Studios and had a team of editors cutting around the clock as they each worked on different scenes.

James Newton Howard composed the film's musical score, which Janet Maslin of The New York Times called "hugely effective".

Howard wasn't confident that he could match the quality of those temporary cues, but he refused to quit, eventually conceding that his score would be a "quasi-failure".

La-La Land Records later released a 2-disc, expanded and remastered edition of the score, featuring over an hour of previously unreleased music, tracks from the original soundtrack, and alternate cues.

[28] Special features on the DVD include behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentary by Tommy Lee Jones and director Andrew Davis, an introduction with the film's stars and creators, and the theatrical trailer.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Exhilarating and intense, this high-impact chase thriller is a model of taut and efficient formula filmmaking, and it features Harrison Ford at his frantic best.

Desson Howe, writing in The Washington Post, called the film "A juggernaut of exaggeration, momentum and thrills—without a single lapse of subtlety—"Fugitive" is pure energy, a perfect orchestration of heroism, villainy, suspense and comic relief.

"[48] Left impressed, Rita Kempley also writing in The Washington Post, surmised how the filmed contained "Beautifully matched adversaries" figuring, "One represents the law, the other justice—and it's the increasingly intimate relationship between them that provides the tension.

"[49] In a mixed review, Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle wrote that "Director Davis valiantly tries to keep the breakneck, harried pace of an actual flight going throughout, and only occasionally drops the ball (the film's convoluted conspiracy ending is the first example to beat me about the face and neck just now—others will crop up after deadline, I'm sure)."

"[51] In a 2018 review for The Atlantic, Soraya Roberts says the film is "notable for being the best of a genre that no longer really exists: the character-driven Hollywood action movie for adults".

Geoff Andrew of Time Out viewed the film as "A glossy, formula chase movie with the requisite number of extravagant action sequences".

The critic added, "Ford is up to par for the strenuous stuff, but falls short on the grief, anxiety and compassion, allowing Tommy Lee Jones to walk away with the show as the wisecracking marshal on Kimble's trail.

"[53] Columnist Ethan Ham writing for the Bright Lights Film Journal speculated that supporting actor Tommy Lee Jones' character was "much more disturbing than the inept police."

It is a dangerous strategy, and could lead to laughable close calls and near-misses, but Davis tells the story of the pursuit so clearly on the tactical level that we can always understand why Kimble is only so far ahead, and no further.

"[47] Rating the film with three stars, James Berardinelli of ReelViews professed, "Following the opening scenes, we're treated to over a half-hour of nonstop action as Gerard and his men track down Kimble.

"[55] Harrison Ford, bearded and numb with grief, breathes new life into the role last played by the stoic David Janssen some 26 years ago.

For the most part, satisfied with the quality of the motion picture, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader said that "The mystery itself is fairly routine, but Jones's offbeat and streamlined performance as a proudly diffident [sic] investigator helps one overlook the mechanical crosscutting and various implausibilities, and director Andrew Davis does a better-than-average job with the action sequences.

It has a sympathetic lead, a stunning antagonist, state-of-the-art special effects, top-of-the-line craftsmanship and a taut screenplay that breathes life into familiar territory.

Having Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones on hand to provide the kinds of performances that they deliver best is just further icing on a cinematic cake ...