SnoopyStyle The Soviets suspect their agent nicknamed Scuba (Richard Lynch) is killing their deep agents and blackmailing them. They send agent Karpov (Richard Bradford) to stop him. In San Diego, FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) has been hunting Scuba for killing his partner. He discovers false information on the Air Force Academy application of Jeffrey Grant (River Phoenix) and suspects his parents Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabeth (Caroline Kava).There are a lot of dead bodies and it seems only Parmenter is on the case. The Russian characters are too Russian. They are literally meeting at the ballet. Despite having some great actors, this doesn't have the needed gritty realism. The idea of Russian sleeper agents in the suburbs could be interesting but this is not well executed. River Phoenix continues to be great. His next movie 'Running on Empty' has a superior family with secret identities.

vincentlynch-moonoi While not a "great" film, I actually think this is pretty decent.You begin with an interesting premise -- a husband and wife were a Communist sleeper cell in America, but have lived their lives here long enough that they have adapted to and enjoy American culture. Suddenly, the Russian government calls on them to do a job...and they refuse. Caught in the middle is their teenaged son who wants to go to the US Air Force Academy and had no idea his parents weren't everyday solid Americans. He becomes the pawn in an international game of intrigue.The cast here is very good, as well. Sidney Poitier is fine as an FBI agent, but -- and this is a significant flaw in the film -- he tries to hard to befriend River Phoenix's character; in today's world, people would have assumed he was a predator. River Phoenix is superb as the teen; makes you wonder what would have been had he not succumbed to drugs. Richard Jenkins is one of this country's great unsung actors; always dependable, as he is here. Richard Grant is fine as the Soviet agent, as in Caroline Kava as the mother. Richard Bradford is very good, but the way in which he was directed to portray his role seems very stereotypical. Richard Lynch is dependably slimy as the really bad guy! Interesting to see a young and svelte Loretta Devine; a fine actress.All in all, a pretty decent film, and probably far more realistic than most "spy" movies.

LeonLouisRicci Rather flat and without a bit of charm, this is a failure of a Film that is broadly overacted and under Plotted. It assumes much and is delivered in an almost blasé style that goes against the grain of this type of thing.There is a horribly intrusive, dated Musical Score, and Scenes that are laughably written that come off as unintended Humor. River Phoenix is the worst over-actor here and that is saying something . Because everyone is beyond Characterture and land in the Realm of unbelievable and boring. This is a Cold War Thriller wannabee with a not aging very well Sidney Poitier giving what seems like a dated, tired Performance. Nothing to recommend here. This is a real sleeper, meaning cured insomnia and not unnoticed or for that matter Spy vs Spys.

mark.waltz This is the type of film that Hollywood was producing tons of in the mid 1960's, so by 1988, it seemed "old hat". But, if you are going to give it a sort of "brat pack" touch, then this is an acceptable variation of the familiar story. River Phoenix, really hot in 1988, was the Leonardo di Caprio of his time, and he is well cast as a really nice teen who wants to go into the Air Force Academy. Little does he realize that his parents have a secret, and this is where Sidney Poitier comes in. Poitier is a FBI agent who has been trying to find Scuba, the man who killed his partner years ago, and now, he learns that the killer is blackmailing the KGB into paying him off or he will kill the remainder of the Russian spies they sent over during the cold war. Guess who two of those spies are. Poor River Phoenix has his whole world turned upside down when the truth comes out, and its up to Poitier to prevent him and his family from becoming Scuba's next target.News shots of former movie star Ronald Reagen making peace with the Russian government are briefly seen which sort of the dates the purpose of having even made this movie since the cold war was obviously long over. But it is still presented in an interesting light and is generally entertaining. This is what we referred to in 1988 as a "popcorn movie", something we went to see strictly for entertainment and forgot about by the next day. I will say that the finale is pretty exciting, though, set on the tram that goes from San Diego to the Mexican border. The much missed River Phoenix was a fine young actor whom we lost too early. Along with the excellent nature-battling thriller "Shoot to Kill", this film marked Sidney Poitier's return to acting after a decade, and he is more than welcomed back. The lovely Loretta Devine has a nice small role as the big-hearted guidance counselor Poitier becomes involved with. Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are fine as DiCaprio's parents, while Richard Lynch and Richard Bradford are nefariously interesting as the Russians.