LCShackley I'm a sucker for espionage movies filmed on location in Europe, so I was positively inclined toward this film, which I had never heard of before it cropped up on cable this week. I'm not sure how I missed it back in 1985, because I'm a Hackman fan and usually like movies of this type.This is an OK film, but not a great one. The locations are superb, and there are enough car chases to keep guys like me happy. The basic idea of the film (family of man with secret past must pay for his actions) is all right, too, but it plays out in a rather clunky way. (The story, by the way, was written by Leonard Stern, the executive producer of the GET SMART TV show, and the co-inventor of "Mad Libs".) Hackman is the best part of the picture. Josef Sommer is also good, but is basically playing the same role he played in WITNESS (also in 1985). He could phone in a part like this. What drags this movie down is the thoroughly annoying Matt Dillon subplot. I'm not sure if it's just Dillon the actor that bothers me, or his character. The screenwriters try to turn this film into a family drama, where the father is reconciled to his son while they search for the kidnapped mother. But the son is SO stupid and annoying, that if I were Gene Hackman, I'd let the KGB put Dillon in a cement overcoat and toss him in the Baltic. IMHO, this would have been a better film with Hackman searching by himself (along with his former lover, perhaps, who is a more interesting character than Dillon).The closing climactic scene drags on WAY too long. The tension is gone long before it's over, and the fade-out shot of the cuddly family is trite. (If you think about it, they're still in a LOT of trouble at that point, probably more than an hour before!) A much better film with a similar plot (and good locations) is the Harrison Ford vehicle FRANTIC. For spy fans, TARGET is worth watching once, but won't bear repeating.

manuel-pestalozzi This movie is a family drama and a spy thriller at the same time. It is also a comedy that makes some fun of both genres, although I am not sure if that is intentional.The acting and the direction are quite good, the screenplay and maybe the editing less so. I suppose the main error is the decision to tell the story from the father's and the son's perspective alternatively. I think it would have been much better and thrilling to tell it from the son's entirely (but in that case maybe it would have been impossible to use a big star in the father's role). The viewers become aware of the father's double-identity much earlier than the son in an incident at the airport that is unexpected, weird, outlandish and laughable. I really did not understand what was going on. The effect of surprise was thus given away pretty cheaply. I also think that the whole plot did not really make much sense – including the long dewiring of the human bomb mother at the end. Too much remains unexplained.But on the whole this is nevertheless a quite atmospheric movie with beautiful locations in Paris, France and Germany. The highlight is a chase sequence through the town of Hamburg which involves a small red Fiat car, a Mercedes taxicab and a small, spluttering three-wheel vehicle. Hackman jumps into a canal and Dillon drives the Fiat up some pretty steep flights of stairs. So I do not think I wasted my time entirely.To any viewer interested in Hackman playing a dad, I can highly recommend the movie Class Action in which a brilliant Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays his daughter.

grubbyjeans-1 I've read the comments about this movie and agree with many; however, I don't watch movies as a critic. I watch movies for enjoyment. Many reviewers commented on weaknesses in plot, or acting, or directing and while I share some of them, I'll offer what I tell my wife frequently when she observes a "hole" in a movie: "It's a movie". It isn't real life; the plot doesn't HAVE to be perfect. The movie DOES have to be enjoyable and I have thoroughly enjoyed this movie every time I've viewed it. I like the plot, I like the acting, and I'm a huge fan of Gene Hackman. His character offers probably my favorite line of all time: "If I see you again, I won't see you again".Just enjoy the movie and don't get so bent up over the small stuff.

Richard Brunton I'm a huge Gene Hackman fan and I remembered seeing this film many years ago and thinking it was quite cool, and when I saw the title in the paper again, I thought I would find out how right I was.Well Hackman is once again excellent. He has such a natural and believable way about him in his roles that I find it hard not to be drawn into his character. He's definitely one of those actors who always plays himself, but it doesn't matter as his ability and style just carry it off without a thought. A truly great actor in my mind.Matt Dillon is also very good, although his younger trademark look of startled deer is ever present.The plot itself is a good one, in that Hackman plays Dillons father, a boring and very dull man with an equally dull job, in his sons eyes anyway. What quickly transpires is that he is not the speed limit sticking man that his son first thought, he is actually a ex CIA agent.This change is done very well, with a short set piece in an airport. With the smallest of physical changes, Hackman flips from average father to confident and action ready agent. You can see it in his manner, and it shows his excellent capability as an actor.The rest of the movie reveals the story as father and son are pulled deeper and deeper into his life, revealing the true extent of his agent activities. His son quickly realises that this is not the father he knew, and quickly grows from off-handedness to total rejection and then to acceptance again.It is an interesting movie, and the plot is quite good with some interesting action sequences. Where it fails are some of the other actors and the hectic pace of the movie, it seems as though either in filming or editing that crucial parts of the movie have been missed or removed.Big shame, but it is still good to watch for a Sunday afternoon movie. I think this may kick off my <i>watch every Gene Hackman movie</i> campaign.