In the Line of Fire
1993 Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Synopsis
An assassin on the loose. A president in danger. Only one man stands between them...
Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.
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Part of Clintfest '13
An ageing secret service agent (Clint Eastwood), still haunted by that day in Dallas in 1963, gets drawn into a deadly duel with elusive, lilting-voiced psychopath John Malkovich in this pulsating, nerve-shredding thriller. Jeff Maguire's script - based on research by producer Jeff Apple - sticks closely to rigid screenwriting rules: as well as the tragedy in the hero's past, both he and his nemesis have idiosyncratic hobbies; but it makes sense that a secret service agent who failed that day would never get over it, that this melancholic soul would find escape in tinkling the ivories, and that a meticulous DIY terrorist such as Malkovich's would delight in model-making. And crucially such traits augment, rather…
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Solid. Eastwood is great and Malkovich is entertaining as hell. Damn good performance. Rene Russo sucks though. Always has, always will.
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I was provoked to watch this film again by this. It turns out I could only really remember the end, which is rather good, though the rest of the film is surprisingly good too. I'm really not a Clint Eastwood fan—and that was before he went clean off his trolley. (My favourite of his films—basically the only one I like—is Heartbreak Ridge (1986).)
Set with Frank Horrigan (Eastwood), a Secret Services agent who was present at the Kennedy assassination, confronted by a madman, Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), with a fixation on assassinating the current President, the film roves through Leary's attempt at "outreach" with Horrigan, his revelation of having been a hitman for the C.I.A., and the inevitable man-to-man conclusion.…
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A strong thriller spearheaded by a wonderful Malkovich performance and a mass of Eastwood zingers. The direction is skillful providing Malkovich with a great entrance and a series of strong characters.
The requisite love story is a little weak but at least provides comical moments. However this is countered with a series of interesting subplots.
The film never quite pulls off the finale as it should with a feeling of dread absent. The hand holding moral equivalency is also unneeded.
The Reverence: Hilarious mugshots including a bug eyed criminal and Malkovich as Wolverine beats out Secret Service Agents stripping down.
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I found it entertaining but not great. Clint basically seems like a caricature of himself, the first two guys he shoots he uses the western pose, it's pretty ridiculous. Other than that there';s a lot of filler, most of the part where he gets assigned to the presidents detail is unnecessary, you get some exposition on Malkovich's character but that could've been worked on in another part, and you also get a romance that feels pretty forced.
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Solid action and suspense in this secret service thriller. Eastwood and Russo are good, and John Malkovich plays the movie's villain nicely. Worth checking out if you're into these types of movies.
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"I have a rendezvous with death, and so does the President, and so do you if you get too close." - Mitch Leary
Pretty solid Clint Eastwood action thriller, both Malkovich and Eastwood are fantastic and throughout the film is tense and gripping. There were one or two patches where the film seemed to become a bit repetitive and stagnant but overall a great thriller with a great premise and some fantastic acting talent.
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Straight forward, enjoyable thriller which successfully plays up on Eastwood's age. Simple and effective.
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Another solid performance from Clint Eastwood. This is a thoroughly tense and engaging thriller with a fantastic villain, played by John Malkovich.
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I was provoked to watch this film again by this. It turns out I could only really remember the end, which is rather good, though the rest of the film is surprisingly good too. I'm really not a Clint Eastwood fan—and that was before he went clean off his trolley. (My favourite of his films—basically the only one I like—is Heartbreak Ridge (1986).)
Set with Frank Horrigan (Eastwood), a Secret Services agent who was present at the Kennedy assassination, confronted by a madman, Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), with a fixation on assassinating the current President, the film roves through Leary's attempt at "outreach" with Horrigan, his revelation of having been a hitman for the C.I.A., and the inevitable man-to-man conclusion.…
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Terrific thriller that is as finely crafted and tune as an expensive watch but doesn't skim on the characters. Compelling performances by Eastwood and Malkovich, rivetting dialogue exchanges and expert direction by Petersen make this top class entertainment.
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Before thrillers filled themselves with exploding helicopters they filled their cast with great actors and the screen with tension, even with formulaic stuff like this.
Only 20 years old but feels like a different era. Malkovich is typically brilliantly unhinged and Eastwood is gruffly stoic. A surprise?