Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sturdy but violent Clint Eastwood assassination thriller.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
In the Line of Fire
What's the Story?
Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is a veteran Secret Service agent who, early in his career, was in Dallas the day John F. Kennedy died and has been haunted by the idea that he could have saved the president's life. Now Frank starts getting calls from Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), a crafty, elusive psychopath obsessed with the idea of killing the current (unnamed) U.S. president in an act of kamikaze revenge against the government. Mitch considers Frank to be something of a kindred spirit, even a "friend," and he toys with the increasingly frustrated agent while stalking the presidential re-election campaign.
Is It Any Good?
A lot here is expected action-movie cliche. You have the novice-cop partner who's as obviously doomed as those Star Trek guys in red shirts; a "liberated" lady (Rene Russo) who clashes with Frank intially but is destined to be his lover; snotty superiors who don't listen to Frank's warnings. The plot does seem to go on a bit long, leaving no cliffhangers un-hung.
But the formula works like gangbusters, thanks to strong casting and a script that uses Eastwood's advancing age and old-school attitudes to good advantage. It's not just a shoot-'em-up but a compelling intellectual match between hero and villain; Mitch, a jaded ex-soldier who doesn't believe in anything anymore, up against the stern, duty-bound Frank, whom he truly admires as an "honorable" man and can't see why Frank puts his life on the line for decades for those unworthy of him.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the various killers and would-be killers who have targeted U.S. presidents and their often-bizarre motivations (such as impressing Jodie Foster).
Does this movie make Secret Service work look like a desirable career? Why or why not?
Talk about the extraordinary career of Clint Eastwood. Once considered a squinty, limited actor best for all those cop-gunslinger roles, Eastwood has since become a small-town mayor, a musician-composer, and a revered, world-class director. Check out Eastwood's piano stylings in Martin Scorsese's musical docuseries The Blues.
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 9, 1993
- On DVD or streaming : February 27, 2001
- Cast : Clint Eastwood , John Malkovich , Rene Russo
- Director : Wolfgang Petersen
- Studio : Columbia Tristar
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 127 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and language
- Last updated : March 14, 2020
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