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Gene Hackman is great in this good political thriller that has plenty of action, twists and surprises as he races against time to thwart an assassination attempt. The target of the hit is the Russian premier who's scheduled to visit Chicago and sign the disarmament treaty with the President that would end the threat of nuclear war. The movie takes off when Hackman's prisoner escapes from a Washington airport and sets in motion the events that lead to the picture's tense payoff. Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones have great chemistry between them during their brief screen time, and most of the film is about Hackman and Joanne Cassidy hunting for Jones while staying out of harm's way as unknown killers hunt them down. Dennis Franz and Thalmus Rasulala are good in supporting roles as the chase scenes intensify against the backdrop of Chicago's skyscrapers and downtown areas.

For about the first half of this movie, the story was very gripping. Tommy Lee Jones and Gene Hackman are both on top of their game. However, once Hackman and Cassidy's characters get to Chicago the film starts to drag and the ending gets predictable. Cassidy's character who started out interesting and intellingent doesn't get anything interesting to do toward the end of the film. The concept, an 80s version of the Kennedy Assisination with a twist is solid, but the movie just runs out of steam. If you like spy thrillers or the Kennedy conspiracies, you may find this movie somewhat entertaining. If you pass on watching this, you aren't really missing much either. Rating 6 of 10 stars.

Include Gene Hackman and you'll have a great movie, that would otherwise be a mediocre one.

Great actors, ok story, nicely directed. All in all-crime and action in the late 80's style. Recommended.

During this movie I had some fun to predict what will happen next. If you had watched (or read) many Thrillers with the Cold War as Topic it's quite easy. This movie is like a time travel back to 1980's. The music score was typical 80's as the photography of the action scenes. Not only the photography and the score were solid like all the actors. Gene Hackman was the leading cast next to Tommy Lee Jones, Dennis Franz, Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy. Gene Hackman is more or the less the same character as he was in many other thrillers. This time he is a good U.S. Sgt. who had some bad luck in his life but is still good enough to fight against all enemies of the U.S. Tommy Lee Jones is playing a villain and he always was great in such Roles. Hopefully he is doing more roles like that again in the future.

The suspenseful final wasn't without flaws but overall I enjoyed "The Package". Not the best Cold War Thriller but entertaining enough.

The end of the Cold War and the toppling of the Berlin Wall made this film outdated almost before it was released. Nevertheless, it remains one of the best conspiracy mystery/thrillers ever made. The plot is amazingly intricate, but by the finish everything is tied up neatly, with no loose ends, a rarity for this type of story.

Gene Hackman is at his no-nonsense best as Johnny Gallagher, a career military man caught up in a complex assassination scheme. As the events unfold, he becomes more and more personally involved, which serves to ratchet up the tension for the audience. His relationships with his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy) and the 'package' of the title, a prisoner that Johnny is assigned to escort into the U.S. from Berlin (played by Tommy Lee Jones in top form), are what really elevate "The Package" into the first rank of suspense dramas. The scenes featuring Hackman and Jones together are wonderful examples of understatement, as the larger political conflict becomes a personal one. Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue) turns up in a great supporting role.

"The Package" maintains an entertaining balance between action movie excitement and character-driven drama. The political background may be out of date, but the fine acting and writing deliver a story that is still compelling.

EDIT by author, 08.30.2006 Note: I saw this film during its original theatrical run. Events at that time (late 80's) moved so rapidly, the political situation had changed significantly between the start of production and its release. It was meant to be occurring in the present, not designed as a period piece. That is what I mean by outdated, which in no way detracted from the film's quality, or my enjoyment of it.