Breakout

Nick Colton is a weathered bush pilot who takes a high paid job to fly into Mexico and free a man who's been wrongfully jailed. The assignment appears simple enough: land near the border, locate the prisoner, and slip back across before anyone notices. But the operation quickly grows murky as hidden loyalties, backroom schemes, and a tangle of secret agendas pull the mission off course. Jay Wagner proves a stubborn ally, while others in the mix watch every move and keep their own cards close. The trek leads them through sun baked towns, canyon walls, and perilous chases, forcing Colton to read people and endure pressure with cool resolve. The stakes keep rising until every choice carries a price.

Directed by Tom Gries, Breakout premiered in 1975 and comes from an original screenplay by Howard B Kreitsek, Marc Norman and Elliott Baker. The film suits Bronson and Duvall with a no-nonsense approach to action and suspense, signaling genre awareness.

Breakout earned approximately 16,000,000 dollars worldwide against a modest 1,000,000 dollar budget, reflecting solid profitability for a mid-70s thriller. The return underscored the enduring appeal of Bronson and Duvall in rugged, hand-to-hand set pieces, and in markets worldwide today.

While Breakout did not spark franchise, it captures era of action cinema. The pairing of Bronson's stoic presence and Duvall's grounded performance, set on roads and tight confrontations, embodies 1970s practical thrillers and helped shape a cadre of similar missions. Its brisk pacing and tactics sharpen the texture of suspense.

Critical notes praised the film's concise setup, brisk pacing and the chemistry between Bronson and Duvall, though some reviewers found the plotting predictable. The themes examine money as moral lure versus duty, trust under pressure, and the price of choosing justice within a flawed system for viewers of the era.