In the first third of the film, homages to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock kept me entertained. The second and third portions of the film grow progressively worse.
*** spoilers ***
Similarities to "The Man Who Knew Too Much": - "Bernard is murdered ... but before he dies he manages to reveal details of an assassination ..." Similarities to "North by Northwest": fleeing from relentless killers
More Noir: Giant shadow in the alleyway where Bobby flees, cast by light from burning trash barrels. The musical score swells in true 1940s-50s melodramatic style. Sparks illuminate the interior of the (power plant? sewage plant?) The back-lit figure comes down the stone stairs when Bobby is phoning Jake (Donald Sutherland). Shades of Welles. "Touch of Evil" is seen listed on the Georgtown Theatre marquee, after the sniper attempt on Bobby's life. Bobby tries to bug/eavesdrop on a corrupt conversation taking place on the waterfront, but has technical difficulties, much like Charleton Heston in Touch of Evil.
Landmarks - half-buried Poseidon(?) statue is a little like the statue of Liberty scene in Saboteur (1942).
Altogether an enjoyable B Movie to catch on cable some night. Worth it for the cast, score and some of the cinematography.
Weaknesses: OK, the UAV attack on the president, while before its time, came off as silly. The helicopter looks too much like a toy to be menacing, and is easily brought down by a clump of party balloons. If the assassin could get such a large package into the room, why not bring a bomb? How does Jake get into the banquet hall with the pistol? Weren't there metal detectors in 1997? Also weak and inexplicable is the cracker motorcyclist who appears from nowhere, and chases Bobby through the subway station. If they were going that far over the top, why not have the villain drive down the escalator, instead of the stairs? Sam Waterston, engaging in Law and Order, and effective in The Killing Fields (1984), phones in a shrill monotone here, especially in his first scene in the oval office with Sheen. Donald Sutherland has done better with similar characters in Commander and Chief (2005, TV), and JFK (as Mister X).
Having assembled a remarkable cast, beautiful score, and so many allusions to great Noir scenes, why does George Cosmatos leave out so many critical plot points? Who are the "Shadow Conspiracy"? At one point, Hamilton mentions that they tap phones and monitor politicians for signs of corruption. Sounds more like a public service than a menace. What was the content of the president's speech, which would have been so earth-shattering? Make us care.
Why does Charlie Sheen always hook up with older women in these B-Movies? Linda Hamilton is nearly a decade his senior, and Lindsay Crouse (the archaeologist in The Arrival) was born in 1948, *seventeen years* older than Sheen! Perhaps after the sex scandals, they feared the liability involved in casting him opposite young starlets. Chuckle. Linda Fiorentino, in "Beyond the Law", is 5 years older. Nastassja Kinski, born 1959, appeared opposite Sheen in "Terminal Velocity (1994).
*** spoilers ***
Similarities to "The Man Who Knew Too Much": - "Bernard is murdered ... but before he dies he manages to reveal details of an assassination ..." Similarities to "North by Northwest": fleeing from relentless killers
More Noir: Giant shadow in the alleyway where Bobby flees, cast by light from burning trash barrels. The musical score swells in true 1940s-50s melodramatic style. Sparks illuminate the interior of the (power plant? sewage plant?) The back-lit figure comes down the stone stairs when Bobby is phoning Jake (Donald Sutherland). Shades of Welles. "Touch of Evil" is seen listed on the Georgtown Theatre marquee, after the sniper attempt on Bobby's life. Bobby tries to bug/eavesdrop on a corrupt conversation taking place on the waterfront, but has technical difficulties, much like Charleton Heston in Touch of Evil.
Landmarks - half-buried Poseidon(?) statue is a little like the statue of Liberty scene in Saboteur (1942).
Altogether an enjoyable B Movie to catch on cable some night. Worth it for the cast, score and some of the cinematography.
Weaknesses: OK, the UAV attack on the president, while before its time, came off as silly. The helicopter looks too much like a toy to be menacing, and is easily brought down by a clump of party balloons. If the assassin could get such a large package into the room, why not bring a bomb? How does Jake get into the banquet hall with the pistol? Weren't there metal detectors in 1997? Also weak and inexplicable is the cracker motorcyclist who appears from nowhere, and chases Bobby through the subway station. If they were going that far over the top, why not have the villain drive down the escalator, instead of the stairs? Sam Waterston, engaging in Law and Order, and effective in The Killing Fields (1984), phones in a shrill monotone here, especially in his first scene in the oval office with Sheen. Donald Sutherland has done better with similar characters in Commander and Chief (2005, TV), and JFK (as Mister X).
Having assembled a remarkable cast, beautiful score, and so many allusions to great Noir scenes, why does George Cosmatos leave out so many critical plot points? Who are the "Shadow Conspiracy"? At one point, Hamilton mentions that they tap phones and monitor politicians for signs of corruption. Sounds more like a public service than a menace. What was the content of the president's speech, which would have been so earth-shattering? Make us care.
Why does Charlie Sheen always hook up with older women in these B-Movies? Linda Hamilton is nearly a decade his senior, and Lindsay Crouse (the archaeologist in The Arrival) was born in 1948, *seventeen years* older than Sheen! Perhaps after the sex scandals, they feared the liability involved in casting him opposite young starlets. Chuckle. Linda Fiorentino, in "Beyond the Law", is 5 years older. Nastassja Kinski, born 1959, appeared opposite Sheen in "Terminal Velocity (1994).