IMDb RATING
5.7/10
3.7K
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A retired CIA agent is recruited to participate in a prisoner exchange with the Russians.A retired CIA agent is recruited to participate in a prisoner exchange with the Russians.A retired CIA agent is recruited to participate in a prisoner exchange with the Russians.
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Some people see this movie as tripe. I on the other hand enjoyed the heck out of it. Hackman is always good, Mikhail did a good job for a ballet dancer. The supporting cast was excellent. There wasn't a foul four letter word in every other sentence, which was a delight in itself. I enjoyed the plot, counterplot and just got caught up in the whole thing. Sure there are some holes in the story but have you seen the garbage that passes for 'critical acclaim' on television nightly? See it yourself, make up your own mind.
Apparently this film bombed at the box office and the director was very disappointed with how the whole thing turned out.
However, the film has a certain post cold war charm and the two leads Gene Hackman and Mihail Baryshnikov play nicely opposite each other.
True it's not a well finished film and scripting is, at times, nonsensical.
However, the film has a certain post cold war charm and the two leads Gene Hackman and Mihail Baryshnikov play nicely opposite each other.
True it's not a well finished film and scripting is, at times, nonsensical.
Rewatching this in 2020 (last viewing was probably mid-90s!) I must say I enjoyed this mild mannered "spy games" light comic thriller. Showing its age now with references to Princess Diana and protagonists smoking on an aeroplane. Has shades of better movies like MIDNIGHT RUN and 48 HOURS but with its own unique charm. I like the twisty turny espionage plot (like an early dry run of Jason Bourne films) and the Michael Kamen score sounds very DIE HARD esque, which adds to some of the more tense scenes (especially the spy trade gone wrong scene about halfway through the film). Lots of good strong supporting actors chewing scenery, and I'll watch Hackman in anything! Some of the dialogue makes me laugh too ("He's so rich he could ski uphill"), and I thought the cinematography was good on my modern 60 inch television. It also serves as a great travelogue of Berlin and Paris. Loses a few points for a totally abrupt ending, almost like they ran out of budget! I would have loved another 10-15 minutes to see how the characters ended up, and if they made it to the Seychelles.
Almost retired CIA spy Boyd (Gene Hackman) is called back to service to bring prisoner Grushenko (Mikhail Baryshnikov) to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. from the beginning, Grushenko is suspicious, so maybe that's foreshadowing. and of course, a designated meeting goes bad, and "someone" is shooting at them. when Boyd calls DC for instructions, his boss turns out to be Kurt Smith, "Red" from the Seventies Show. Acc to wikipedia and other sources, there were soooo many issues making this film... an unfinished script, the fact the USSR was already kaput, and cast and production disagreements. it's also odd that both IMDB and wikipedier label this an action comedy.... i'll go along with the action, but never did hear the comedy. it's pretty well done as a serious action/drama, which is how the actors play it. the ending is pretty weak. there are a couple twists and turns, but it kind of ends with a whimper. no big showdown. which is ok. very european. written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. it's good. but it's not a comedy.
I thought I had seen all of the Gene Hackman movies, but somehow I missed this one and I rather enjoyed it quite nicely.
The good: Gene Hackman Gene Hackman Gene Hackman. The guy just gets it right (almost) every single movie. He is Mister Cool. A gentleman. A wisecracker.
This is certainly not Gene Hackman's best role, but it's good enough.
More good: the music by Michael Kamen, which sounds eerily similar to the orignal Die Hard soundtrack, which Michael Kamen composed as well. I REALLY appreciate a dedicated soundtrack and this movie has got a special score for every different scene. Terrific suspenseful score, that is one of the best features of this entire movie, just as it was in Die Hard.
Any bad? Well, it's a predictable, classic espionage story, which has been told (better) many times before in other movies, but for the fans of this genre, who dont mind the typical espionage cliches, this is still well worth a watch. It did please me from start till finish.
I am glad I stumbled into this movie. Gene Hackman rocks. And this movie is simply a well made nineties espionage movie.
The good: Gene Hackman Gene Hackman Gene Hackman. The guy just gets it right (almost) every single movie. He is Mister Cool. A gentleman. A wisecracker.
This is certainly not Gene Hackman's best role, but it's good enough.
More good: the music by Michael Kamen, which sounds eerily similar to the orignal Die Hard soundtrack, which Michael Kamen composed as well. I REALLY appreciate a dedicated soundtrack and this movie has got a special score for every different scene. Terrific suspenseful score, that is one of the best features of this entire movie, just as it was in Die Hard.
Any bad? Well, it's a predictable, classic espionage story, which has been told (better) many times before in other movies, but for the fans of this genre, who dont mind the typical espionage cliches, this is still well worth a watch. It did please me from start till finish.
I am glad I stumbled into this movie. Gene Hackman rocks. And this movie is simply a well made nineties espionage movie.
Did you know
- TriviaMikhail Baryshnikov hated this movie so much that he refused to do publicity for it.
- GoofsWhen Mikhail and Gene are walking through the forest, they walk toward the camera which moves backwards in sync with them. At one point, the camera crew bumps some branches of a fir tree, which are seen to snap into the frame before the actors reach the tree.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Ken Adam - Production Designer (1990)
- SoundtracksThe Boys In The Back Room
Written by Friedrich Hollaender (as Frederick Hollander) and Frank Loesser
Arranged and Producedv by Tony Bremner
Performed by Adèle Anderson
- How long is Company Business?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $18,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,501,785
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $533,610
- Sep 8, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $1,501,785
- Runtime
- 1h 38m(98 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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