CLASSIC MOVIES: IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993)

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Brief Movie Synopsis [courtesy of Turner Classic Movies]:

A Secret Service agent who failed to prevent the
assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963
tries to come to terms with his past, while
attempting to stop another Presidential assassination.

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REVIEWS:

"In the Line of Fire is...movie making of the high, smooth, commercial order that Hollywood prides itself on but achieves with singular infrequency. .... [The film] is so neatly constructed that even though Frank [Clint Eastwood] and Mitch [John Malkovich] confront each other quite early, the tension of the virtually movie-long chase does not let up until the end. One pursuit across the rooftops of Washington is as elegantly staged as it is brutal and revealing of character. .... 'In the Line of Fire' is the kind of movie that gives teamwork a good name. Taking the remnants of a dozen other movies, this team has concocted a suspense melodrama so satisfying that its cliches, which keep it zipping forward, become epiphanies: by the time you reach the end and look back, everything makes sense. There are very few movies this summer about which that can be said with a straight face. .... Commanding the film but never getting in the way of it is Mr. Eastwood. His Frank is as obsessed as Mr. Malkovich's assassin, but also easy and self-aware, cool and amused. This is the richest performance yet by an actor who, among other things, keeps getting better and better."

-- Excerpt from The New York Times; July 9, 1993

"Despite the familiar plot elements...'In the Line of Fire' is not a
retread but a smart, tense, well-made thriller. .... What's surprising is
how much time the movie finds for small touches of realistic detail and
emotion. The conversations between [Clint] Eastwood and [Rene] Russo...sound as if they're taking place between real people. ....
The special effects are good at inserting a young Eastwood into 1963
footage of Kennedy, establishing the character's deep need to stop the
new assassination he feels is coming. And the direction of the final
scenes is as spectacular as it is skillful. .... Most thrillers these
days are about stunts and action. 'In the Line of Fire' has a mind."

-- Roger Ebert; July 9, 1993

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