DVD : In The Line Of Fire [1993]

Rating: - First class thriller
John Malkovich is convincingly creepy and vicious in his role as an assassin turned maniac who wants to kill the president. Next to him, Clint Eastwood is a secret service man who failed to protect JFK. Their demons drive this excellent film, which is convincing and very involving.

It's an excellent movie and first class entertainment.

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Rating: - Clint kicks more butt in this 90's thriller
In The Line of Fire is another fantastic film from Clints 'latter years', though it's always nice to see by this time he still had a full voice and wasn't so creaky. The storyline is good enough to keep you hooked, while the plot, though has been done quite a few times before, is given a 'Presidential' makeover when looney-assasin John Malkovich plans to kill the President before the end of the current elections.

It's also funny in its own way that he still has this amazing ability to attract even young women, as he so does in this film despite the 40/50 year age gap. Must be his own brand of aftershave... Davidoff hasn't pulled for me yet!

What's also nice to see is that he puts a smile on his face regularly whilst sweet-talking his assistant on the job, and can still pull off those 'butt' or 'ass' related one-liners that he loves.

Highly recommended if you're a thriller fan, or just like a bit of Eastwood!

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Rating: - "All we have is the game. I'm on offence, you're on defence."
Warner Bros.' favourite son's first film outside the studio since the mid-seventies (also the first scored by Morricone in even longer) resulted in one of the best thrillers of the Nineties. The premise is simple, offering Eastwood's ageing secret service agent, who failed to save JFK, the chance for redemption by stopping Malkovich's assassin, who latches on to his guilt in an engrossing cat-and-mouse game. The idea of the criminal and his pursuer forging a bond has been done many times before, but seldom as well as here.

What really makes it work is the strength of the characterisation, giving the audience a stake in the protagonists that adds to the tension. As a result, Eastwood and Malkovich's confrontations (filmed simultaneously rather than separately to give an edge to the performances) are as electrifying as the edge-of-seat action sequences. Even the use of CGi is subtle and well integrated into the story rather than drawing constantly attention to themselves.

Self-deprecating, self-doubting, the kinder, gentler Eastwood on show here gives his most likeable performance to date, while the beautifully underplayed and surprisingly moving scene where he describes the events of that fateful day in Dallas is one of the finest moments in his career. The erratic John Malkovich is more than a match for him, contributing his best screen work to date, with a good supporting cast also on strong form, while Wolfgang Petersen's direction, Maguire's script and John Bailey's outstanding photography all make strong impressions.

While this special edition does offer some good special features (it had previously been available as a barebones edition), it loses a star by keeping 8 seconds of cuts made by the BBFC for the film's theatrical release.

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Rating: - Edge of your seat thriller pepered with Malkovich's superb performance
IN THE LINE OF FIRE, in my opinion, is an excellent, suspenseful, and edge-of-your-seat action/drama/thriller! I thought that Agent Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) and Agent Raines (Rene Russo) looked good in the attire they wore at the presidential dinner. As for Leary (John Malkovich), he was a sick man who loved to toy with Frank by phone. He looked good in the tuxedo he wore near the end of the film, though. One thing that surprised me was the growing attraction between Agent Horrigan and Agent Raines. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the entire cast and crew did an outstanding job, I loved the setting, and I couldn't get enough of it. Now, in conclusion, to all you Clint Eastwood fans who haven't seen this excellent, suspenseful, and edge-of-your-seat action/drama/thriller, I highly recommend it.

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Rating: - A star combination
Eastwood plays Horrigan a veteran secret service agent, who is trying to stop an ex-cia hitman from killing the President.
John Malkovich plays the assassin and steals the film from Eastwood (and believe me Eastwood is very good).

There are a number of brilliant scenes where Eastwood and Malkovich talk over the phone, playing games of cat and mouse with each other. Credit for these must go to the screenplay by Jeff Maguire, but Wolfgang Peterson's direction is very good as well.
This film will grab you from the first scene to the last and certainly holds up well for repeated viewings. Very entertaining indeed!