This thriller sees former spy Gene Hackman running around Paris, meeting various contacts and battling a rather nasty enemy in the form of a man with glasses who doesn't think twice about bumping off those who stand in his way. This has some fairly tense and exciting moments but it's let down by a plodding running time and, towards the end of the film, in the last half an hour, nothing really happens. The plot falls apart and the sense of pacing which filled the first half of the film evaporates, instead boredom sets in.
Hackman is as good as he ever was, a real tough guy and charismatic too. Matt Dillon is well cast as his unlikely son who finds himself caught up in all sorts of espionage and intrigue. The rest of the people are minor characters who are quite forgettable, especially the villains who get far too little screen time and aren't really that threatening anyway. There are a couple of good car chases, explosions and some nice action bits but overall this film is a missed opportunity - for a good Paris-based thriller try either THE FRENCH CONNECTION II or RONIN, which do tend to make better use of scenery and help to emphasise Paris' claustrophobic architecture.
Hackman is as good as he ever was, a real tough guy and charismatic too. Matt Dillon is well cast as his unlikely son who finds himself caught up in all sorts of espionage and intrigue. The rest of the people are minor characters who are quite forgettable, especially the villains who get far too little screen time and aren't really that threatening anyway. There are a couple of good car chases, explosions and some nice action bits but overall this film is a missed opportunity - for a good Paris-based thriller try either THE FRENCH CONNECTION II or RONIN, which do tend to make better use of scenery and help to emphasise Paris' claustrophobic architecture.