In the Line of Fire

MPAA Rating

Theatrical Release Date

Jul 08, 1993

Genre(s)

Thrillers
Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem
Political Thriller
Clint Eastwood
Special Editions

Rating (Stars)

Description

This smart, tautly directed thriller from Wolfgang Petersen is about the cat-and-mouse games between a Secret Service agent named Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) and the brilliant, psychopathic assassin (John Malkovich) who's itching to get the President in his cross hairs. The back-story--Horrigan is haunted by his inability to prevent John Kennedy's assassination (Eastwood is computer-generated into archival footage)--is more than a little hokey, but the plotting itself is smartly, even ingeniously, constructed. Petersen manages a viselike grip on the tension and Eastwood even gets to deliver an ever-more-timely lecture on the diminished nature of the office of President. Eastwood's as gruff and as infuriating to the by-the-book Powers That Be as ever, and Malkovich oozes delightful menace. Renee Russo capably costars as a colleague with whom Horrigan gets friendly. --David Kronke

Director

Wolfgang Petersen

Stars

Clint Eastwood
John Malkovich
Rene Russo
Dylan McDermott
Gary Cole

Running Time

127 minutes

Original Price

$14.94

Current Value

$5.40

DVD Features

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC
2.35:1