A solid if predictable presidential assassin thriller boasting a typically strong performance from star Clint Eastwood. Eastwood plays an old-timer who finds himself in a battle of wits with a much younger man, a psychopath who's planning to kill the president. The running time is overlong but the film plays out in a serviceable, entertaining manner even if it sticks entirely to Hollywood convention throughout. Wolfgang Petersen, a director always more at home at sea rather than on land, displays little enthusiasm for the material but wrings the usual thrills out of the premise, only failing in some ludicrously cheesy slow-motion shots.
There are roles for a whole bunch of familiar faces and John Malkovich is allowed to get his teeth into his turn as a psychopath, although it has to be said this is one of the less memorable villains that Hollywood's thrown our way. Watch out for a memorable rooftop encounter and some vintage tough-guy moments from Eastwood.
There are roles for a whole bunch of familiar faces and John Malkovich is allowed to get his teeth into his turn as a psychopath, although it has to be said this is one of the less memorable villains that Hollywood's thrown our way. Watch out for a memorable rooftop encounter and some vintage tough-guy moments from Eastwood.