There is not one believable moment in this entire film. Not one.
While the concept must have seemed daring at the time, the execution of it was laughable. My husband I watched this and kept saying, "What? Huh? I'm sorry... what? What's going on? What are they doing? Huh?" And when we weren't doing that we were howling, especially as the end unfolded.
I am truly shocked that Sidney Poitier (as "Roy," the FBI agent) agreed to do this. Also, I'm shocked that he agreed to do a scene where he jumps out of bed in his underwear at age 60. It's not that Sidney was out of shape, but it just seemed so bizarre. Maybe that's why he took this part, because he felt it was different than anything else he had done. It was, but it wasn't better, and that is where the problem lies.
Director Richard Benjamin had clearly overdosed on the original "Mission Impossible" TV series in the 1960s, and thought, "This is my chance! Now I can make my own version of it!" But it fails on every single possible level.
River Phoenix as "Jeff" was bursting with talent and good looks. Had he lived, he would have been like Leonardo DiCaprio. He has the looks, the talent and the intensity. And he does his best in this truly horrid movie. What's great is that he can hold his own with Sidney, and they work well together. But it does not make up for the rest of the movie.
We are asked to believe that Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are sleeper Russian spies, and that they have lived the last 20 years in California, happily doing their gardening business and raising their beautiful boy "Jeff" (River). And then something happens that forces them to confront their pasts and confess to their son. Although Caroline has a short moment when she speaks Russian (I guess to "prove" that she's Russian), I could not ascertain that anyone, except Richard Bradford as "Konstantin," had any Russian background. The point being: in 1988, you had to speak clear, perfect English. If the movie was made now (God forbid), we'd hear the actors speaking only in Russian and we'd have subtitles.
I could go on, but what's the point? It's convoluted, it's derivative, it's fake, it's calculated, it's over-the-top, it's insane and it has no rhyme or reason for existence.
It really hurts to give this film a 1, because Sidney and River both have amazing gifts, but in this film, it doesn't matter, because the script and the directing and the rest of the casting all add up to spell "disaster."
While the concept must have seemed daring at the time, the execution of it was laughable. My husband I watched this and kept saying, "What? Huh? I'm sorry... what? What's going on? What are they doing? Huh?" And when we weren't doing that we were howling, especially as the end unfolded.
I am truly shocked that Sidney Poitier (as "Roy," the FBI agent) agreed to do this. Also, I'm shocked that he agreed to do a scene where he jumps out of bed in his underwear at age 60. It's not that Sidney was out of shape, but it just seemed so bizarre. Maybe that's why he took this part, because he felt it was different than anything else he had done. It was, but it wasn't better, and that is where the problem lies.
Director Richard Benjamin had clearly overdosed on the original "Mission Impossible" TV series in the 1960s, and thought, "This is my chance! Now I can make my own version of it!" But it fails on every single possible level.
River Phoenix as "Jeff" was bursting with talent and good looks. Had he lived, he would have been like Leonardo DiCaprio. He has the looks, the talent and the intensity. And he does his best in this truly horrid movie. What's great is that he can hold his own with Sidney, and they work well together. But it does not make up for the rest of the movie.
We are asked to believe that Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are sleeper Russian spies, and that they have lived the last 20 years in California, happily doing their gardening business and raising their beautiful boy "Jeff" (River). And then something happens that forces them to confront their pasts and confess to their son. Although Caroline has a short moment when she speaks Russian (I guess to "prove" that she's Russian), I could not ascertain that anyone, except Richard Bradford as "Konstantin," had any Russian background. The point being: in 1988, you had to speak clear, perfect English. If the movie was made now (God forbid), we'd hear the actors speaking only in Russian and we'd have subtitles.
I could go on, but what's the point? It's convoluted, it's derivative, it's fake, it's calculated, it's over-the-top, it's insane and it has no rhyme or reason for existence.
It really hurts to give this film a 1, because Sidney and River both have amazing gifts, but in this film, it doesn't matter, because the script and the directing and the rest of the casting all add up to spell "disaster."