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15 out of 15 people found the following review useful: The conspiracy, 14 April 2005 Author: jotix100 from New York
Andrew Davis shows with "The Package" his affinity to this type of thriller which was better realized in "The Fugitive", but as films of this genre go, it makes satisfying entertainment. As written by John Bishop, the film will not bore anyone, although the plot is at times so convoluted it loses our credibility."The Package" takes us from Berlin to Chicago. It involves corrupt officers within the higher ups in the armed forces who don't want to see any type of peace between the two super powers at the center of the story, the United States and the Soviet Union.This film came out as the Berlin wall was falling. Of course, the Mr. Bishop couldn't have foreseen the future, but after watching the movie, it makes us think this could well have occurred because of the parties involved. The film also points into the subversive groups operating within our country which is an added confusion to the plot.Gene Hackman is tremendously appealing as Johnny Gallagher, the man who is responsible for solving the puzzle. Tommy Lee Jones, is the paid assassin Thomas Boyette who, in true thriller fashion appears to be one step ahead of everyone else. Joanna Cassidy makes a good contribution as Eileen Gallagher. John Heard is an intense military man who wants to get rid of whoever comes in his path. Dennis Franz is seen as the kind Chicago detective that realizes the immensity of what is being planned."The Package" is a good entertainment under Andrew Davis' direction who gets solid performances from the talented team assembled for the movie.
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Outstanding, Intelligent, Under-appreciated, 3 August 2001 Author: raymond_chandler from Seattle, WA
The end of the Cold War and the toppling of the Berlin Wall made this film outdated almost before it was released. Nevertheless, it remains one of the best conspiracy mystery/thrillers ever made. The plot is amazingly intricate, but by the finish everything is tied up neatly, with no loose ends, a rarity for this type of story.Gene Hackman is at his no-nonsense best as Johnny Gallagher, a career military man caught up in a complex assassination scheme. As the events unfold, he becomes more and more personally involved, which serves to ratchet up the tension for the audience. His relationships with his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy) and the 'package' of the title, a prisoner that Johnny is assigned to escort into the U.S. from Berlin (played by Tommy Lee Jones in top form), are what really elevate "The Package" into the first rank of suspense dramas. The scenes featuring Hackman and Jones together are wonderful examples of understatement, as the larger political conflict becomes a personal one. Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue) turns up in a great supporting role."The Package" maintains an entertaining balance between action movie excitement and character-driven drama. The political background may be out of date, but the fine acting and writing deliver a story that is still compelling.EDIT by author, 08.30.2006 Note: I saw this film during its original theatrical run. Events at that time (late 80's) moved so rapidly, the political situation had changed significantly between the start of production and its release. It was meant to be occurring in the present, not designed as a period piece. That is what I mean by outdated, which in no way detracted from the film's quality, or my enjoyment of it.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Intriguing cold war movie with the timing a little off, 21 October 2007 Author: blanche-2 from United States
Tommy Lee Jones is "The Package," a prisoner that Gene Hackman is returning to the United States from Germany in this 1989 film also starring Joanna Cassidy, Dennis Franz and John Heard. The United States and the Soviet Union are in the midst of delicate peace negotiations, but there are factions of the military who don't want to see it happen. Jones is Tommy Boyette, their hired assassin who, through an intricate plot, is supposed to kill the soviet premier. Boyette escapes via a mens room while the Hackman character, Johnny Gallagher, is returning him to the states. Gallagher starts investigating; it's not long before he's uncovered the plot.This is a very good movie with some exciting sequences and lots of tension, as Gallagher finds himself and everyone around him in tremendous danger as he figures out what's going on. He has the help of his ex-wife (Joanna Cassidy) who is in the military, and a Chicago police officer, played by Dennis Franz.The problem with this film is in its timing - it was released in August 1989 in the U.S., and in November of that year, the Berlin Wall came down, rendering the film dated -- and it had only been released in two countries by then. It's nevertheless a well-acted, well-directed film. Seen today, it holds up better as a story set in the past than it did a story set in a present that was changing dramatically.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Halfway decent, 19 February 2002 Author: (songwarrior52@yahoo.com) from Nashville, TN
A halfway decent "dry run" for the Andrew Davis repertory company that later surfaced in the same director's "The Fugitive' starring Harrison Ford. The story about "patsy" soldiers and an international assassination conspiracy is actually pretty good, until the usual string of preposterous occurrences help to bail protagonist Gene Hackman out of an impossible bind. Credibility is strained, then lost altogether when seriously wounded Chicago cop--played by Dennis Franz (who else?)--emerges from his hospital bed to help Hackman foil the bad guys. You know, if they thought about the endings with the attention to detail that they lavish on the big shootouts, they might actually have a chance to complete a good film. Kevin Crowley is good in a major/minor role, preparing the way for his bit parts in "The Fugitive" and "Major League."
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Gene Hackman makes a good thriller even better, 14 August 2005 Author: NewEnglandPat from Virginia
Gene Hackman is great in this good political thriller that has plenty of action, twists and surprises as he races against time to thwart an assassination attempt. The target of the hit is the Russian premier who's scheduled to visit Chicago and sign the disarmament treaty with the President that would end the threat of nuclear war. The movie takes off when Hackman's prisoner escapes from a Washington airport and sets in motion the events that lead to the picture's tense payoff. Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones have great chemistry between them during their brief screen time, and most of the film is about Hackman and Joanne Cassidy hunting for Jones while staying out of harm's way as unknown killers hunt them down. Dennis Franz and Thalmus Rasulala are good in supporting roles as the chase scenes intensify against the backdrop of Chicago's skyscrapers and downtown areas.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Not bad, but somehow predictable, 28 March 2009 Author: Chris from Austria
During this movie I had some fun to predict what will happen next. If you had watched (or read) many Thrillers with the Cold War as Topic it's quite easy. This movie is like a time travel back to 1980's. The music score was typical 80's as the photography of the action scenes. Not only the photography and the score were solid like all the actors. Gene Hackman was the leading cast next to Tommy Lee Jones, Dennis Franz, Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy. Gene Hackman is more or the less the same character as he was in many other thrillers. This time he is a good U.S. Sgt. who had some bad luck in his life but is still good enough to fight against all enemies of the U.S. Tommy Lee Jones is playing a villain and he always was great in such Roles. Hopefully he is doing more roles like that again in the future.The suspenseful final wasn't without flaws but overall I enjoyed "The Package". Not the best Cold War Thriller but entertaining enough.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: One of the best political thrillers ever, 3 July 2006 Author: oeoaa from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I first saw the "The Package" as a video rental back in 1990. It's not only one of Andrew Davis' best films, but one of the best political thrillers I think ever made. The plot is as intricate and complex as movie viewers will see. Just take some of the best elements of a Tom Clancy novel, set it in an urban setting, namely Chicago where Davis is from, and you've got a typical Andrew Davis film. Like "The Fugitive" "Above the Law" and "Code of Silence", "The Package" sets its story around a plot filled with conspiracies, cover-ups and political power games. The plot, as I said, is intricate. Some in this forum and elsewhere said it's too confusing. Perhaps. So is the real-life JFK assassination. But all of the bells and whistles are necessary. The story (and here's a spoiler warning for you!) is about a plot to assassinate the Russian President during a U.S. summit held in Chicago. The plot involves high-level American and Russian political and military officials. What they hope to accomplish is somewhat revealed in the end. The Cold War --in the film-- is ending, but some in the U.S. government don't want to see that happen. So, a scheme is concocted to find a patsy, set him up as a radical, and frame him for the assassination. The Russians, presumably, will blame the United States for their president's death, regardless of the circumstances. What will all this lead to? World War III? A new Cold War? A coup d'etat in the American government? The film, understandably, leaves that up for speculation. The ride is more fun than sometimes the payoff in this kind of film. That's pretty much this movie's plot. But then again, this is a plot in many movies. Other films, however, fail to give us a compelling story. Not the case with "The Package." Too many movies just gives us wall-to-wall action with a cookie-cutter plot to get us from one action scene to the next. The good thing about this film is that there are plenty of action scenes, but the real enjoyment is trying to piece the puzzle together. So, if you like those type of thrillers, you'll love this film.TLD - Chicago
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Fictionalized thriller reuses real life elements from the Kennedy assassination., 12 August 2002 Author: lizziebeth-1 from Sydney, Australia
The real star of The Package (1989) is the original story, written by John Bishop.This political thriller is an even better-mounted Andrew Davis production than Under Siege (1992) which came soon after. It stars Gene Hackman as John Gallagher, the putated hero, and he does have a few good lines, eg when his team puzzles over why a lone man in uniform paces in the cold: "That's a general, guys. Generals do a lot of thinking. Whenever I'm asked to be one, I always say No", he jokes with his men.Tommy Lee's character's identity as possibly a Thomas Boyette is crucial to the plot, so I don't want to blow the suspense. But suffice to say that the "package" is actually the person of TLJ, whom Johnny Gallagher has to escort off the Glienicker Bridge out of East Berlin, and then back onto USA soil, supposedly as punishment for Gallagher having lost a firefight with terrorists who kill the same general he and his team observed pacing earlier.This is a clever rework of the wilderness of mirrors of the Kennedy assassination. The movie centers around a plot at the highest levels of both the US and Soviet armies. A small cabal of Cold Warrior hawks conspires to destabilize and possibly destroy the peace process of détente, which was well on its way to success.They don't agree with "the removal of the nuclear shield", ie of the constant threat of (M)utually (A)ssured (D)estruction. (It was the policy until the very détente came to pass which this movie examines. Yes, its acronym really is MAD. You can bet a lot of mileage was made of that for decades.) But just what is the cabal actually planning? Who ordered the hit on that general, and why?A number of the characters reveal their alternate identities from time to time. TLJ in particular is a chameleon, but I think he is best when he pretends to be (possibly) Secret Service. He wears Macintoshes really well. Some of his costumes don't always suit him, but he's fairly believable as a priest performing a live drop at a bus depot. (When two people surreptitiously try to pick up each other's goods in public, that's called a "live drop". They're usually done at depots. A "dead drop" is when one person deposits something in a hidden place and then marks an agreed-upon signal to indicate there is something to be picked up for whoever comes along much later.)Like I said, the plot showcases and moves the story along very nicely. The only two things that fail in the movie (for me, rather grossly) are the incessant but transparent attempts by some unseen hand repeatedly yanking Gallagher's chain, and the fact that he keeps extricating himself and getting away. Others keep dropping dead all around Gallagher, but he's always fine. It gets really, really frustrating, because all the dead victims were soft targets who knew almost nothing but were terminated with prejudice, while Gallagher, who is in a position to figure out everything, they don't even attempt to kill until the last part of the movie. It's Gallagher that's the Teflon Kid, not ex-President Bill Clinton!The most chilling line (this is a thriller, after all) is delivered by Karl Richards "from Intelligence" (Ron Dean), Henke's rather unassuming, avuncular handler. When the pointedly naive Henke observes that "This setup is perfect. Really", meaning his own brand new office, Karl agrees that "Yeah. It is", and we get chills of realization that there is much more going on than Henke is aware of. Here's my spoiler (apologies): Henke's the patsy. He's the patsy in exactly the same way that we're supposed to be reminded Oswald was. Henke is even "sheep-dipped" (tarred with a false reputation exactly opposite to what he was being used as) the same way as Oswald was, handing out anti-Communist leaflets on the street, exactly the same as Oswald. The analogy is unmistakable.Dennis Franz repeats his stereotype role as police detective Milan (Gallagher's ex-wife, the formidable Eileen Gallagher (Joanna Cassidy) pronounces it incorrectly as "Mylon") Delich, the gruff detective who is nevertheless deep. Franz is, as always, very credible, with great cop's reflexes, and he even has a very brave scene where he stands his ground in a shootout, despite being already wounded. Franz began doing Buntz during his years on Hill Street Blues, which I can recall, and for me it's always nice to see "Buntz" again. Franz has spoken of his apparent typecasting, but he for one actually enjoys it. It's a character he enjoys exploring indefinitely, he says.As for our satisfaction at the ending - it's pretty satisfying, but sad. Glen Whitacre (John Heard) is chillingly premature when he spits at Gallagher that "you're a dead man". He constantly underestimates everybody, including his own situation, so I guess he's probably the dumbest of the co-conspirators. He gets a run for his money, though, from the salt-and-pepper team of dumb rough guys for the cabal, who look like Frick and Frack. They keep turning up everywhere in different guises. They even turn up as a couple of good guys in other Andrew Davis movies, who has obviously cottoned onto the notion of using the same stable of actors in his movies wherever possible.All in all, a very well developed story, if perhaps a little overdeveloped in order to keep Gallagher alive and well enough to do damage. 9/10.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Rather Average Conspiracy Thriller, 17 May 2004 Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland
!!!! MILD SPOILERS !!!! Gene Hackman plays a special forces NCO . One thing I do know about Gene Hackman is that he served in the US Marine Corp and played these grizzled army types very very well throughout his career . As you`d expect Hackman is very good in THE PACKAGE but where the movie falls down is the script which is ridden with some very large plot holes . I`ll give you an example : Tommy Lee Jones character is an assasin who is trying to bump of the Soviet leader - so why does he use the identity of a soldier under arrest ? Shouldn`t hit men be anonymous ? And I couldn`t help thinking there`s maybe just a little too much twisting and turning in the plot which meant many government agencies like the army , police and secret service are involved in the conspiracy , conspiracy theories work when they`re credible , when you have too many people involved in a conspiracy as seen here it spoils the credibility somewhat . And don`t expect a original climax because the one seen here is very similar to DAY OF THE JACKAL
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A very good thriller, 30 August 2001 Author: ijozic from Osijek, Croatia
This is a very good movie. It has a strong story (which most of the today's movies lack of) and a good relationship between characters. I have seen it a dozen times at least but I still find it rewarding to watch although I know it by heart. I think this should say something about the quality of the film. If you haven't seen it, do it. You won't regret it.
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