Age is a big deal when it comes to thinking that a sequel to Midnight Run could happen since the movie came out 32 years ago, when both Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin were a good deal younger, and when De Niro was still attempting to flex his comedy muscles. While it turned out to be a good idea and definitely proved to be a good enough movie for people to get behind, thinking that a sequel after all this time would go off just as well is something that keeps some people shaking their heads and wondering just why in the hell folks can’t let things rest as they are. There was a decent ending to the first movie, things turned out just fine, and Grodin’s character was allowed to get away instead of facing the kind of justice that others wanted him to. So why in the world would it be worth the time to go back and see how the characters are doing at this point? Many people keep wanting to argue for sequels and continuations and reboots and remakes…oh my…but very few are being listened to when it’s being stated that this would be anything but a good idea. For one, as I mentioned above, age is a big issue, since De Niro is in his late 70s, while Grodin is currently in his 80s. Both men are getting pretty old to take on a movie like this unless they’re going to be given a chance to do something that’s not as physical.
Plus, over three decades later, the whole idea of being able to protect a person across state lines like this is something that would be insanely difficult for one person, perhaps impossible, and it’s not likely that it could happen in any realistic sense. Besides that, a lot of what Walsh did in the first movie would probably be enough to land him in jail for a good number of years, and at this point, putting a character this old in prison would basically be a life sentence. The biggest question is why there would even need to be a second movie, but of course, that question usually gets blank looks and a lot of explanation as to why sequels are important because they can make more money which fuels the possibility of making more movies and giving people more ideas to work with and so on and so forth because…Hollywood. I don’t buy it either, but I’m not the one writing the checks and therefore like many others, I’m left to either shake my head and wonder when people will stop paying for the sequels and remakes, or simply accept that it’s going to happen and not watch them when they come out.
Right now it does sound as though the sequel might be gaining some traction, but unless it continues to roll ahead it could happen that something might happen to keep it from becoming a reality. While some folks might not dance up and down for joy since a lot of people have likely forgotten about this movie, some would no doubt be kind of bummed out. That’s kind of interesting since while some fans do talk about this movie fondly, others really don’t pay that much attention to it, and usually only perk up when it does reach their ears, if only for a few minutes here and there. Be honest here, Midnight Run was a fun movie for a lot of people, and it did pretty well from a financial standpoint, but it’s had a chance to become a sequel for a long time now, but nothing ever came of it. Why? And why isn’t anyone seeing this when in truth the movie had plenty of chances to do something that could have brought it back in a big way? In a big way, it feels as though this is bound to play more to De Niro’s ego and the idea that he’s attempting to do as much as he can with the time he has left, which could be another couple of decades for all we know or longer. Anyone that wants to argue and say that De Niro doesn’t have an ego wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but there are times when it feels as though his need to be in the public eye might suggest differently. Since that’s a matter of perspective it’s likely best to let that theory rest, but one other thing to say against a sequel to Midnight Run is something that I’ve already stated. It’s been 32 YEARS, not days, not months, not weeks, but years. If something was going to happen with this sequel it should have happened back in the 90s or, at the latest, in the 2000s. As of now, it’s feeling as though the time has come and gone.
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