In the Line of Fire (1993) - Clint and co-stars on fire in one of the decade's finest thrillers

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Star Clint Eastwood runs alongside a motorcade on a security detail on this poster for Wolfgang Petersen's In the Line of Fire

Frank was serving in the Secret Service during JFK's assassination. He is not about to see a repeat, and so he is 100 % dedicated to the hunt for a new, very competent maniac, who wants to murder the current US President!

 

In the Line of Fire is written by Jeff Maguire (Gridiron Gang (2006)) and directed by German-born American master filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen (One or the Other/Einer von uns Beiden (1982)), whose 7th feature it was. 

It is a perfect piece of thriller entertainment with Clint Eastwood (Hereafter (2010)) in top shape as the old-timer protagonist, who doesn't take no bullshit. The dialog creates sparks, and Eastwood's romance with Rene Russo (Nightcrawler (2014)) here is both elegant and sexy.

John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich (1999)) is eerie. Ennio Morricone's (The Hateful Eight (2015)) music is subdued and effective. In the Line of Fire leaves you breathless with its sophisticated, realistic thrills.

 

Related posts:

 

Wolfgang Petersen: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Poseidon (2006) - Petersen's disastrous disaster flick

Top 10: Best epic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

The Boat/Das Boot (1981) - Petersen's awe-inspiring WWII epic 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 40 mil. $

Box office: 187.3 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.68 times the cost)

[In the Line of Fire premiered 8 July (California) and runs 128 minutes. Eastwood was paid 7 mil. $ for his performance; Malkovich received 1 mil. $. Shooting took place from October 1992 - January 1993 in Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Colorado, Michigan and in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #3, behind holdover hits The Firm and Jurassic Park, to a 15.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 5 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#2-#2-#3-#5), grossing 102.3 mil. $ (54.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none. It lost Best Supporting Actor (Malkovich) to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive, Editing to Schindler's List and Original Screenplay to Jane Campion for The Piano. It was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs and a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, in line with this one. Petersen returned with Outbreak (1995). Eastwood returned in A Perfect World (1993). In the Line of Fire is certified fresh at 96 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Line of Fire?