In the Line of Fire

Rating:
Summary: Redemption?
Review: A smart, taut thriller with a sense of humor, In the Line of Fire was directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One, A Perfect Storm) and produced by Clint Eastwood, Petersen, and others. (Eastwood doesn't take a producer's credit, but his longtime associate, David Valdes, is listed as executive producer). The movie pits Eastwood's 'dinosaur' of a Secret Service agent with a past ('Frank Horrigan') against John Malkovich's effete snob psychopath ("Booth"). "Booth," a cashiered CIA assassin, wants to get even with his former employer, and write himself a page in the history books, a la John Wilkes Booth, by killing a president; Frank aims to stop him.

Rene Russo plays a gorgeous, younger Secret Service agent ('Lilly Raines') whom Frank goes out of his way to irritate, beginning with their first encounter. (Frank: 'The secretaries keep getting prettier and prettier.' Lilly: 'And the field agents get older and older.')

(In the Line of Fire's storyline was surely inspired in large part by Stephen Sondheim's 1990-91 musical theater masterpiece, Assassins. Failing even to make it to Broadway, Assassins was a commercial flop of historical proportions, but in this critic's opinion, contains the greatest of all of Sondheim's scores. Led by its own 'Booth' as narrator, Assassins speculates that all presidential assassins were bound by the need to achieve a perverse form of 'greatness'; that through killing a great man, they too would achieve a sort of second-hand greatness and immortality, even if it was only the immortality of men whose names would be cursed throughout history.)

Booth has obsessively studied the history of presidential assassins, particularly the Kennedy assassination. That's what brings him and Frank together. Frank was one of JFK's bodyguards; indeed, he was Kennedy's favorite. He 'had Kennedy's ear.' But when the time came, on that fateful, November morning in Dallas, Frank heard the first shot, but failed to react. That failure has tortured him ever since. Booth knows this, and in teasing, almost erotic telephone calls, relentlessly needles Frank about it. ('Late at night, when the demons come, do you see the rifle coming out of that window, or do you see Kennedy's head being blown apart? If you'd reacted to that first shot, could you have gotten there in time to stop the big bullet? And if you had -- that could've been your head being blown apart. Do you wish you'd succeeded, Frank? Or is life too precious?')

In order to keep the cat-and-mouse game interesting, Booth gives Frank clues and assistance along the way.

The hammy Malkovich, who sounds like a decadent, tenured, 'postmodern' professor of literature, earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination. ('Watching the President, I -- I couldn't help wondering why a man like you would risk his life to save a man like that. You have such a strange job -- I can't decide if it's heroic or absurd'. Frank: 'Just how does it work?' Booth: 'It doesn't work, Frank. God doesn't punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Everyone dies. Some die because they deserve to; others die simply because they come from Minneapolis. It's random and it's meaningless. Frank: 'Well, if none of this means anything... why kill the President? Booth: 'To punctuate the dreariness.')

By contrast, Eastwood drolly plays off his flinty, plainspoken character's age and infirmities. And watching Russo could break a man's heart, wondering, 'If only Hollywood directors had had the sense to make her a star when she was 25 or 30, instead of waiting until she was 38, to notice her.' But as Brett Walter's marvelous imdb.com bio shows, it turns out she had a life, 'B.H.' (before Hollywood).

Jeff Maguire's original script is so good, that it gets not only the big stuff ' the diabolical bad guy and the red herrings that the heavy throws the heroes' way -- but also the little things that so often make me wince during a thriller. He gives Eastwood and Russo dialogue they can work with, so that they can make us believe, without insulting our intelligence, that Lilly might just give an old rust bucket like Frank a whirl.

But amid all the action and clever small talk, Maguire provides a melancholy background music binding the characters, who recall a time when we had presidents worth taking a bullet for. (At the time, Bill Clinton was president, but I can't say if the melancholy referred to him personally.) No wonder, he was nominated for an Oscar (he lost out to Jane Campion, for the vastly overrated The Piano.)

Film editor Anne V. Coates was also nominated for an Oscar. Coates, who had won an Oscar for 1962's Lawrence of Arabia, lost out to Michael Kahn of Schindler's List.

Eastwood was already on a roll (as both actor and director ' see Unforgiven, A Beautiful World, The Bridges of Madison County and Absolute Power) when he made In the Line of Fire, which started Russo on one (Get Shorty, Tin Cup, The Thomas Crown Affair).

Wolfgang Petersen's deft direction keeps things moving, and is so unaffected and unobtrusive, that I'm left with little to point to. Petersen and Maguire cleverly work Eastwood's personal fondness for playing the piano into the story.

Eastwood, Malkovich, and Russo are ably supported by a cast that includes Gary Cole, Fred Thompson, John Mahoney, Dylan McDermott and the District of Columbia.

Will Booth prevail, or will Frank redeem himself? That is the question.

Rating:
Summary: Clint Eastwood's best performance yet!
Review: "In The Line of Fire" is a thinking person's movie with lots of action, suspense, and brains as well! It gets better and better every time that I watch it! Clint Eastwood gave a superb performance as Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan, a man who is haunted by a loss. In 1963, he was guarding President John F. Kennedy when the commander-in-chief was assassinated in Dallas, TX. Horrigan's inability to divert the tragedy has wreaked havoc on his personal life, making the aging agent socially reclusive and chagrined at his own failures. "A living legend; the only active agent who ever lost a President", says Horrigan of his soiled reputation. His chance to redeem himself comes soon enough, though.

A meticulous psychopath named Mitch Leary (John Malkovich in a outstanding and frightening performance) is threatening the current president, and Horrigan is back on the case. Leary identifies himself as John Booth, an eerie reference to President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Leary taunts Horrigan for his failings, and his pranks become more dangerous as he gets closer to his endgame.

Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot", "Air Force One") directs this super-slick thriller with sheer intensity and explosive action as well. Two powerhouse actors, plus a great supporting cast (Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, John Mahoney, Gary Cole, Fred Dalton Thompson) make "In The Line of Fire" one of the absolute best suspense films of 1993!

Rating:
Summary: Eastwood is great..Russo is sexy and Malkovich is creepy
Review: Clint Eastwood(Blood Work, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), a cop..was one of the guys who protected John F. Kennedy before he was assassinated...now he is jumping threw hoops for some killer who likes to toy and play with him..great suspense and Eastwood is a charm to watch..John Malkovich(Knockaround Guys, Con Air) is always evil...there's no denying that. directed by Wolfgang Petersen also starring Rene Russo(Get Shorty, The Thomas Crown Affair), Dylan McDermott(Tv's The Practice, The Cowboy Way), Gary Cole(A Simple Plan, I:Spy), Fred Dalton Thomas(Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Tv's Law and Order), Joshua Malina(Tv's Sports Night, Tv's The West Wing), John Mahoney(Tv's Fraiser, The Hudsucker Proxy), and Steve Railsback(Slash, Made Men). good cat and mouse game

Rating:
Summary: Secret Service Gets Boost from Eastwood
Review: This review refers to the Special Edition DVD(Columbia)......

He was there when Kennedy was assassinated. It still haunts him 30 years later. If he had moved a fraction of a second sooner he may have saved his beloved president, But a what cost to him? He is Frank Horrigan(Eastwood), an aging Secret Service Agent, trained to do whatever it takes to protect the President of the United States. Now he has a chance to redeem himself in his own eyes.
A psychotic, but very clever, would be presidental assassin is on the loose. He calls himself Booth(Malkovich), (Because Booth had so much more "panache" then Oswald). He taunts Horrigan about the day Kennedy is shot, through phone calls. Lets him know that he intends to assassinate the president,even if it means dying himself, and taking Frank with him.
Frank does everything he can to track down this killer and save the president. Most of the other agents feel Frank is too old to keep up the pace of the Presidental Campaign trail,but he feels he must persue this case.
A deadly cat and mouse game ensues, and we are kept on the edge of our seats throughout the movie,waiting to see what Booth's next move will be, and if Horrigan will be a part of it. It's thrilling and chilling.
Eastwood as always gives a brilliant performance as the aging agent,(He always seems to be an aging something lately,cop,thief, astrounaut,reporter, but he's sooooo good at it)and Malkovich is outstanding as the mysterious, chilling assassin. Also contributing greatly to the film are Rene Russo, as the field agent Horrigan takes a shine to and Dylan McDermott as his young partner, and we all know by now that it is not healthy to be Clint's partner in any film! Directed by the great Wolfgang Petersen( Das Boot, Air Force One), and scored by Ennio Morricone, you wont want to miss this thrill ride.
The DVD is top quality. It is in widescreen(Anamorphic),with the sound choices of 5.1 dolby or 2 channel surround. Either way you will be happy with the sound.For me sound is one of the more important features in an action film. Great picture and colors, lots and lots of special features, I checked out a couple of the featurettes, very entertaining and informative. I'm saving some for the next time I watch it. There are subtitiles in English and several other languages for those needing it. If you are a fan of Eastwood, Malkovitch, Petersen or are just in the mood for an action thriller this is a great one!
Would you take the bullet???? Laurie

Rating:
Summary: Secret Service Agent Man
Review: Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, (Air Force One) IN THE LINE OF FIRE, is another solid thriller, that delivers. Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan (played with assured confidence by Clint Eastwood) is haunted by the fact that, in 1963, he failed to protect President Kennedy, from being killed. Some 30 years later, he is called into action and must protect another President. When a crazed assassin (John Malkovich) tells Frank that he will kill the current leader of the US, unless Horrigan can prevent it. Frank must fight the past in order to save the present. The film also stars Rene Russo, as Frank's Field Chief, and Dylan McDermott, as his partner. Eastwood draws on his "Dirty Harry" persona for sure, but tones it down a few notches, so that viewers can tell the difference between them. Malkovich is effectively errie and sinister as Frank's nemesis. There is also good chemistry between Russo and Eastwood to provide plenty of spark. Petersen stages the entire film with a firecracker percision that is downright exciting. This film is a great companion to AIR FORCE ONE.

There are a few extras on the DVD that are worth your time. They include the "How'd they do that?" featurette. The Director gives a pretty good commentary track, but, it can lag from time to time. The rest of the disc is pretty standard. I wish the deleted scenes were cleaned up a bit so that you could follow them better. A few of them had sound problems and were so dark that I had to play them more than once, in order to appreciate them.

This is a good actioner with solid acting and an exciting story. The Special Edition DVD is recommended. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Clint Eastwood's best performance yet!
Review: "In The Line of Fire" is a thinking person's movie with lots of action, suspense, and brains as well! It gets better and better every time that I watch it! Clint Eastwood gave a superb performance as Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan, a man who is haunted by a loss. In 1963, he was guarding President John F. Kennedy when the commander-in-chief was assassinated in Dallas, TX. Horrigan's inability to divert the tragedy has wreaked havoc on his personal life, making the aging agent socially reclusive and chagrined at his own failures. "A living legend; the only active agent who ever lost a President", says Horrigan of his soiled reputation. His chance to redeem himself comes soon enough, though.

A meticulous psychopath named Mitch Leary (John Malkovich in a outstanding and frightening performance) is threatening the current president, and Horrigan is back on the case. Leary identifies himself as John Booth, an eerie reference to President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Leary taunts Horrigan for his failings, and his pranks become more dangerous as he gets closer to his endgame.

Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot", "Air Force One") directs this super-slick thriller with sheer intensity and explosive action as well. Two powerhouse actors, plus a great supporting cast (Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, John Mahoney, Gary Cole, Fred Dalton Thompson) make "In The Line of Fire" one of the absolute best suspense films of 1993!

Rating:
Summary: Very Smart movie, although some may not agree
Review: The only actor i liked in this political action thriller was John Malkovitch. I mean he is one of the greatest actors alive today and this movie shows why. I loved his other movies like 'Being John Malkovitch', 'Con Air' and 'Of Mice and Men'. The tension and anger could be felt by the charecter Malkovitch played. On the other hand, this was clearly Clint Eastwood's best preformance too. The reson why this great half and half movie didn't win an oscar is because of
a. The title.
b. Based on fictional charecters and at the same time discriminating the US Government by showing lack of professionalism.
c. Only three major actors.
d. Release date.

So anyway, some might say that this is just another action flick, which it is, so if you'd like to see Eastwood play a hard nosed secret agent and hunt down a humerous, serial killer physcopath played by Malkovitch, then this movie will do alright. It may be a typical movie but the good thing about movies everybody would like to see is the highly awaited climax. So watch this if you are an action fan.

Rating:
Summary: good
Review: This interesting little suspence tale starring Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, and John Malcovich goes into the world of politics. Eastwood plays FBI agent Frank Horrigan, a man who's been haunted by the fact that he couldn't save Kennedy after the first shot had been fired. Malcovich brilliantly plays Mitch Leary, a psychotic man who's only goals are to taunt Horrigan and to assaninate the president. Russo plays Lilly Raines, the female agent who is bothered by Horrigan's lame attempts to woo her and to help Horrigan solve the mess that Leary has made. Good movie and watch for Gary Coleman,Dylan McDermott, John Heard, and Ed Harris as well.

Rating:
Summary: Eastwood Vs. Malkovich, with the President in the Middle...
Review: Clint Eastwood, in his first film after completing his masterpiece, UNFORGIVEN, chose a winner with Wolfgang Petersen's suspenseful IN THE LINE OF FIRE. As 30-year veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, Eastwood had the misfortune of protecting President Kennedy, November 22, 1963, and the specter of not reacting quickly enough has never fully left him, through the subsequent years. At the other end of the spectrum is ex-CIA assassin Mitch Leary (brilliantly portrayed by John Malkovich), who had become 'excess baggage' for the intelligence community, due to budget cuts. After surviving a bungled attempt to kill him, Leary decides to vent his rage at his 'betrayal' by assassinating the President. In his research, he discovers that the only agent still active from the 1963 team is Horrigan, and, deciding they shared a kinship, he begins to tease Horrigan with clues about himself, and how he'll kill the President.

The film builds up a 'head of steam' from the very first scene, as Horrigan and his partner, Al D'Andrea (Dylan McDermott, long before television stardom in THE PRACTICE) take down a band of counterfeiters, and the edginess never lets up, as Leary, introducing himself as 'Booth', begins his series of fateful calls to Horrigan. Facing mounting opposition from the head of the Presidential Secret Service team (Gary Cole), as well as the White House Chief of Staff (future Senator Fred Dalton Thompson), Horrigan badgers, insults, and belittles everyone's work, knowing the potential assassin will find any crack in the security, and take advantage of it. Only his boss, Sam Campagna (FRAZIER star John Mahoney), his partner, D'Andrea, and fellow agent Lilly Raines (Rene Russo, in another star-making performance), take him seriously, with Raines soon falling in love with the cantankerous agent.

The plot is full of twists and turns, as Horrigan barely misses capturing Leary, twice, and Leary, at one point, actually saves Horrigan's life (while ending D'Andrea's). Strung so tightly that he starts making bad 'calls', Horrigan is finally removed from Presidential security...just as Leary is about to make his move...

IN THE LINE OF FIRE does for the Secret Service what BACKDRAFT did for firefighters, and television's NYPD BLUE did for policemen; it shows the organization not as a group of faceless supermen, but as dedicated people performing an essential service, protecting the lives of others. As Leary sneers to Horrigan, "I'm the offense, you're the defense," and that analogue truly describes the difficulty of their job; they must find the means to protect the President against whatever misdeed a perpetrator can concoct. While Clint Eastwood's Horrigan may be far more of a 'lone wolf' than the Agency would, in real life, tolerate, his dedication to his job reflects well on those unique individuals who would 'take a bullet' for the President.

It is an excellent suspense film, and a worthy addition to any Clint Eastwood collection!

Rating:
Summary: The only Eastwood movie I own
Review: Believe it or not, this was the first Clint Eastwood movie I bought and only the second I?ve seen (the first was ?Blood Work?). So consequently I cannot compare this to a ?Dirty Harry? or any of Eastwood?s older works. I can however say it was a good movie. It is at times rather predictable and follows the example of most other cop vs. killer films, but that?s okay. The acting by Clint and particularly John Malkovich makes up for any lack of originality. That?s not to say there?s no innovation within ?In The Line Of Fire?. There certainly is. Even in their supporting roles, both Rene Russo and Dylan McDermott (aka Will from NBC?s Will & Grace) prove to be at the top of their games. All in all, if you can get past the conventionalism and the random spots of predictability, you?re bound to enjoy the show.

Eastwood plays the role of Frank Horrigan, who?s an older, obnoxious Secret Service agent who, years ago, was unable to prevent JFK from being shot. So when a ?wet-boy? posses a great threat to the current President, Frank?s past is brought back to light courtesy of the self-proclaimed Booth (played brilliantly by John Malkovich). Booth is a very scary character. And it?s not until partway into the movie that we see his face clearly. He is a smart, flawless exhibitioner who has a profound obsession with President?s deaths. Most others in the office ignore the threats and leave Frank as though he?s an old fuddy-duddy past his prime. But Eastwood knows, claiming right from the start: ?I know things about people?. What Booth does is lead Frank and other agents through a series of set-up clues that keep them close; though not too close. Because Booth singles out Frank, the two are able to form an excellent on screen double act. They may not be working together, but they interact with each other just so perfectly. That aspect of the movie was hands down the best element. Along with the aforementioned quote, a few others give Eastwood that appeal that would most likely do for this movie what the ?...punk? quote did for ?Dirty Harry?. And even Malkovich chimes in with a most-memorable quotation: ?all we have is the game?. And the game continues all the way till the very end, when we see if Eastwood?s instincts were right all along. Aside from all the great acting and an exalting story, there were a couple of ugly spots in the movie. The first that comes to mind is the romance scenes between Eastwood and Rene Russo. The bedroom scene was predominantly unlikable, but Eastwood finished it off with a hilariously unforgettable line. I won?t spoil it for you. Also, the special effects were nothing to write home about; a part at the end actually made me laugh. But in the end, the greatness of the movie outweighs the few poor spots.

If you are a Clint Eastwood fan I?m sure you already own this movie. If you?re a budding Eastwood fan born after his time, I can?t tell you ?In The Line Of Fire? is better than any other Eastwood classics. But, again, I can tell you it?s worth watching. The character of Frank Horrigan is played perfectly by Eastwood. And John Malkovich drops in the best performance of his career as the lofty but likable Booth. There is not a moment of this movie that?s not entertaining (romance bits excluded), and the thrills just keep on pilling up. On a more serious note, when you?re watching this movie, it?s frightening to think there?s no one like a Frank Horrigan out there who?d protect the President with such pride. I picked this up for a buck at the Half-Price Book Store; for that price I couldn?t pass it up. And I don?t recommend you pass it up either.