A mediocre script that's elevated by near perfect execution.
What's interesting about this is I wasn't as hooked by the initial assassination/the famous space needle fight as I was by the rest of it. I was thrown into that scene and didn't find myself caring, however as the film went on, I cared a lot about the characters and was more caught off guard by the directing choices.
Pakula slays this. He's always keeping you engaged with interesting choices, like showing you an entire recruiting video as if you are the character. The twists and turns of the script are interesting and accentuated by his camera work, which reminds me at times of Hitchock. His followup All The President's Men is by all means a better movie, but doesn't have quite the same flare that Parallax View has.
Unexpected, dark, and fascinating I quite enjoyed this one.