In the Line of Fire (1993)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1993
	Director: Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One)
	Actors: Clint Eastwood (For a few dollars more, Gran Torino), John Malkovich (R.E.D., Burn after Reading), Rene Russo (Lethal Weapon 3, Ransom)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 21.12.2016, VOD, 42" TV
Synopsis: Frank Horrigan (Eastwood) badly lives with the memory of the assassination of Kennedy that he couldn't prevent as member of the Secret Services. 25 years later a man (Malkovich) contacts him in person and threatens the current President.
Review: Directed by the very Americano-patriotic German citizen Wolfgang Petersen, In the Line of Fire is for me one of the best Thrillers starring Eastwood, in the decade of Heartbreak Ridge (1986) and Absolute Power (1997). OK the movie is very much centered on the Hollywood star that has the best role, gets the girl and saves the day by being an American hero, but if you like the style it is quite nice to watch. What set the movie apart are the back-story of Horrigan and the special relationship between him and the madman: it is not usual to have this bond between a (super-)cop and the bad guy. Also the state of mind of both characters is very well rendered by the respective actors Eastwood and Malkovich, both very natural. The story evolves at the right pace, with the expected amount of tension and conflict between Horrigan and his superiors who don't believe him the threat is real. In this movie Eastwood was starting to play with his age, i.e. the story requires the main character to be at the end of his career even though he then flirts with the 20 years younger Rene Russo. He will continue this way in Space Cowboys, Gran Torino...
Rating: 7 /10