Target

I'm a sucker for espionage movies filmed on location in Europe, so I was positively inclined toward this film, which I had never heard of before it cropped up on cable this week. I'm not sure how I missed it back in 1985, because I'm a Hackman fan and usually like movies of this type.

This is an OK film, but not a great one. The locations are superb, and there are enough car chases to keep guys like me happy. The basic idea of the film (family of man with secret past must pay for his actions) is all right, too, but it plays out in a rather clunky way. (The story, by the way, was written by Leonard Stern, the executive producer of the GET SMART TV show, and the co-inventor of "Mad Libs".)

Hackman is the best part of the picture. Josef Sommer is also good, but is basically playing the same role he played in WITNESS (also in 1985). He could phone in a part like this. What drags this movie down is the thoroughly annoying Matt Dillon subplot. I'm not sure if it's just Dillon the actor that bothers me, or his character. The screenwriters try to turn this film into a family drama, where the father is reconciled to his son while they search for the kidnapped mother. But the son is SO stupid and annoying, that if I were Gene Hackman, I'd let the KGB put Dillon in a cement overcoat and toss him in the Baltic. IMHO, this would have been a better film with Hackman searching by himself (along with his former lover, perhaps, who is a more interesting character than Dillon).

The closing climactic scene drags on WAY too long. The tension is gone long before it's over, and the fade-out shot of the cuddly family is trite. (If you think about it, they're still in a LOT of trouble at that point, probably more than an hour before!) A much better film with a similar plot (and good locations) is the Harrison Ford vehicle FRANTIC. For spy fans, TARGET is worth watching once, but won't bear repeating.

I'm a huge Gene Hackman fan and I remembered seeing this film many years ago and thinking it was quite cool, and when I saw the title in the paper again, I thought I would find out how right I was.

Well Hackman is once again excellent. He has such a natural and believable way about him in his roles that I find it hard not to be drawn into his character. He's definitely one of those actors who always plays himself, but it doesn't matter as his ability and style just carry it off without a thought. A truly great actor in my mind.

Matt Dillon is also very good, although his younger trademark look of startled deer is ever present.

The plot itself is a good one, in that Hackman plays Dillons father, a boring and very dull man with an equally dull job, in his sons eyes anyway. What quickly transpires is that he is not the speed limit sticking man that his son first thought, he is actually a ex CIA agent.

This change is done very well, with a short set piece in an airport. With the smallest of physical changes, Hackman flips from average father to confident and action ready agent. You can see it in his manner, and it shows his excellent capability as an actor.

The rest of the movie reveals the story as father and son are pulled deeper and deeper into his life, revealing the true extent of his agent activities. His son quickly realises that this is not the father he knew, and quickly grows from off-handedness to total rejection and then to acceptance again.

It is an interesting movie, and the plot is quite good with some interesting action sequences. Where it fails are some of the other actors and the hectic pace of the movie, it seems as though either in filming or editing that crucial parts of the movie have been missed or removed.

Big shame, but it is still good to watch for a Sunday afternoon movie. I think this may kick off my <i>watch every Gene Hackman movie</i> campaign.

A husband / father (Gene Hackman) and his estranged son (Matt Dillon) team up during an eventful trip to Europe. The wife / mom (Gayle Hunnicutt) has disappeared during a solo vacation, and they're determined to find out what has happened and why. They must dodge attempts on their lives as they work to solve this mystery.

A large part of the problem is a not-so-hot script, with its fair share of bad lines. "Don't get funny, get good." But it improves as it progresses, with a stronger second half, and some decent action sequences. (The third and final teaming of Hackman and filmmaker Arthur Penn, after "Bonnie & Clyde" and "Night Moves", certainly promised something more special than this.) Particularly effective are scenes with Hackman and the antagonist once they are revealed. It turns out, they don't have an unsympathetic motivation. Still, the twists here are plenty predictable, which works against whatever fun factor that Penn is able to generate.

Making the difference are the international settings (Germany, France) and the location usage, as well as a typically fine performance by Hackman. The star once again demonstrates his ability to be consistently engaging, whether playing a hero or villain. He and Dillon may not be the most believable father-son duo ever assembled for the movies, but they work together well enough. The supporting cast is just fine, although it must be said that Hunnicutt, as the victim who sets the plot in motion, is by nature of her role largely wasted. Providing able support are character actors Josef Sommer ("Witness"), Guy Boyd ("Body Double"), Herbert Berghof ("Cleopatra"), in his final film role, and Richard Munch ("Patton"), as well as an enchanting Viktoriya Fyodorova as Hackmans' old comrade; she and he do have good moments together.

One can do better than this if they're looking for an intrigue-thriller, but it's certainly not a total waste of time, either.

Six out of 10.

This movie is often dismissed as just an average Cold War spy flick. But in fact it is quite a bit more than that. It can well hold its own, thanks to the solid direction and first-rate performances by Hackman and Dillon.

These two never disappoint and seem to have had fun working together. They relaxedly fill in all the little character incongruities.

The story is interesting, but could have used much more exact local detail instead of this chain of insipid cutouts from travel brochures. The locals, but also the spies talk and behave like cardboard figures and tend to lessen the atmosphere a little. The same goes for a lot of the locations.

Recommended for fans of Dillon and Hackman, but also for those of you who like a solid spy movie.

Missed seeing this film over the years as I am a big fan of Gene Hackman, (Walter Llyod/Duke Potter),"Absolute Power", who plays the role as the average husband and wife with a son who is not very close to his father at all. Matt Dillon,(Chris Llyod/Derek Potter),"Loverboy", plays the son and Gayle Hunnicutt(Donna Llyod) "Dream Lover", is the wife who tries her very best to get her Walter to become closer to their son Chris. Donna disappears while she is on a tour in a foreign country and then the story gets quite complicated with lots of guns going off and plenty of car chases and great photograph in Germany and France. This film builds you up as you start getting interested and sort of goes down hill real fast. I like Gene Hackman and that is the only reason I decided to finish seeing this film.