Tough adult on the run with a kid (super-powered, witness, etc).
A variation of "cop on the run protecting a star witness" ("Narrow Margin" on), which is usually a gorgeous woman. This time it's sometimes a police officer, burned out parent, reluctant hitman/hero, etc, who is being chased by a group of villains (mobsters, special government group, corporate hitmen, a cult) who somehow always seem to find them, using helicopters and vans. The child is sometimes a witness to a crime, but is sometimes super-powered. The chase takes them across town, sometimes across country. They are often befriended by people who end up being hurt.
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- DirectorJohn HoughStarsEddie AlbertRay MillandDonald PleasenceTwo mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?The original hit.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsBette DavisChristopher LeeKim RichardsTia and Tony visit Los Angeles, but he's quickly kidnapped by an evil scientist, leaving her to desperately search for him.
- DirectorMark L. LesterStarsDrew BarrymoreDavid KeithFreddie JonesA couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
- DirectorPierre De MoroStarsMark MillerDonovan ScottBridgette AndersenSavannah is the only child of a wealthy politician, Richard Driscoll, who is more concerned with his image and career than with his family.Early variation in which a girl willingly flees with criminals on the lam.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsMary Beth HurtMichael McKeanKathryn WalkerA seemingly normal young boy is found abandoned on a mountain road and adopted by a family who are increasingly amazed by his abilities before discovering the secret behind his real identity.The last third of this film turns into the on-the-run movie.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsEddie MurphyJ.L. ReateCharles DanceA private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child whom dark forces want to eliminate.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsRutger HauerTerry O'QuinnBrandon CallA blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKevin CostnerClint EastwoodLaura DernA kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.Switching the formula: the tough guy is actually a criminal who kidnaps the boy.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.A variation: they actually stay put next door. The villains chase them down eventually.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsKevin CostnerJeanne TripplehornDennis HopperIn a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw "smokers," and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsBruce WillisMiko HughesAlec BaldwinShadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.
- DirectorLance MungiaStarsJeffrey FalconJustin McGuireKim De AngeloIn the post-apocalyptic world of 1990s Nevada, a rock 'n' roll samurai on his way to Lost Vegas takes a young orphan boy under his protection as Death and his metalhead Horsemen chase after them.Here the kid more just tags along.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsTom HanksTyler HoechlinPaul NewmanA mob enforcer's son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.
- DirectorWayne KramerStarsPaul WalkerCameron BrightChazz PalminteriA low-ranking thug is entrusted by his crime boss to dispose of a gun that killed corrupt cops, but things get out of control when the gun ends up in wrong hands.
- DirectorAndy FickmanStarsDwayne JohnsonCarla GuginoAnnaSophia RobbA Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a U.F.O. expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsSaoirse RonanCate BlanchettEric BanaA sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.Variation: she's on her own for most of the movie.
- DirectorMark NeveldineBrian TaylorStarsNicolas CageCiarán HindsIdris ElbaJohnny Blaze, tortured by the Ghost Rider's curse, gets a chance of redemption through protecting the Devil's son, whose father is pursuing him.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsJason StathamCatherine ChanChris SarandonMei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail.
- DirectorAfia NathanielStarsSamiya MumtazMohib MirzaSaleha ArefIn the mountains of Pakistan, a mother and her ten-year-old daughter flee their home on the eve of the girl's marriage to a tribal leader. A deadly hunt for them begins.
- DirectorJalmari HelanderStarsSamuel L. JacksonOnni TommilaRay StevensonA young teenager camping in the woods helps rescue the President of the United States when Air Force One is shot down near his campsite.Switching it up: the tough kid is the one protecting the special adult.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMichael ShannonJoel EdgertonKirsten DunstA father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the child's special powers.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsMel GibsonErin MoriartyDiego LunaAn ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 17-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsSam NeillJulian DennisonRima Te WiataA national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsHugh JackmanPatrick StewartDafne KeenIn a future where mutants are nearly extinct, an elderly and weary Logan leads a quiet life. But when Laura, a mutant child pursued by scientists, comes to him for help, he must get her to safety.
- DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsJohn David WashingtonMadeleine Yuna VoylesGemma ChanAgainst the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child.