In The Line Of Fire Details

A sight you thought you'd never see: Clint Eastwood in tears. Not many, but they're there. And that's just one of the novelties in this hugely enjoyable thriller in which Eastwood plays a secret service agent who is not only visibly ageing — a fact that he admits to his younger lover, Rene Russo — but is also shamed by his past inability to save President Kennedy from assassination. That's why he's so obsessed with John Malkovich, would-be killer of the current First Executive. Director Wolfgang Petersen and Eastwood clearly have a thing about presidents, with the former trapping Harrison Ford in the hold of Air Force One and the latter seeking to expose murderous Gene Hackman in Absolute Power. This is better than either of those blockbusters, as Petersen piles on the suspense with ruthless skill, while Eastwood reveals the same vulnerability that made his performance in Unforgiven so compelling and convincing. The Oscar-nominated Malkovich makes an admirable adversary, taunting Eastwood in much the same manner that Scorpio did in Dirty Harry. Editor Anne Coates and screenwriter Jeff Maguire also received Oscar nods, although Maguire was not the first to attempt a script, with Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford and Sean Connery linked to previous versions, while Robert Duvall and Jack Nicholson were in the frame for the bad guy. In the end Eastwood and Malkovich proved the perfect men for the job.

An enjoyable thriller that provides Eastwood the opportunity to develop an unstereotypical character, but which also lets Malkovich go over the top as a carpet-chewing baddie, and lacks suspense.