By the late 1990s, the roles had started to dry up for Robert Downey Jr. as he continued to struggle with his personal issues, with many producers in Hollywood refusing to touch him due to his reputation as a party animal who was more likely to be found in prison or rehab than on set.
In fact, not long before shooting started on The Fugitive sequel U.S. Marshals, the actor was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unregistered firearm, which led to him being jailed for six months after he failed to turn up for a court-ordered sobriety test under the terms of his probation.
Having won an Academy Award for his performance in the 1993 classic, Tommy Lee Jones’ Samuel Gerard returned for the follow up five years later, with RDJ cast as DSS Special Agent John Royce, and the two form an uneasy alliance to try and track down Wesley Snipes’ escaped convict and rogue operative.
While it isn’t a patch on its predecessor, U.S. Marshals provided reasonably diverting entertainment, and it’s the sort of accomplished mid budget thriller with a talented ensemble that Hollywood isn’t much interested in anymore. It’s also proven popular on HBO Max this weekend, having raced up the most-watched list to reside in sixteenth position as per FlixPatrol, and there are definitely worse ways to spend two hours of your time than checking it out.