The film is based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth, who coincidentally also penned "The Kill List, "The Day of The Jackal" and "The Odessa File", all which became films. His craftmanship is nothing short of cat/mouse routine. The film turned out to be rather well done. A TNT made for TV movie with Sam Elliot ( Roadhouse, The Mask) at the helm as a former Vietnam Special Forces cleaner. There is great character drive in this film and Timothy Hutton plays a CIA operative sent to stop his character. The plot is very good as Elliot's character is out to right a few wrongs. Strong delivery, great pace of the film and well worth a look at. I give this 6 out of 10
Plot summary
After his own daughter was killed in Panama in 1994, former C.I.A. Agent Calvin Dexter became a private "specialist" in cases which wouldn't reach justice trough the regular legal channels. Two years later, he accepts to find Richard "Rickie" Edmonds for his pa, influential rich businessman Stephen Edmonds. Rickie left for a private Canadian war victims charity in Bosnia and went missing. Dexter discovers Rickie was beaten to a pulp and drowned for no other crime then helping street boys from the other side by Zoran Zilic and his Serbian paramilitary "order". He offers Stephen to "finish the job", as such war criminals don't go to trial. But Deputy C.I.A. Director Paul Devereaux cares only for a nuclear arms project, for which he wants to use Zilic. So C.I.A. troubleshooter Frank McBride is ordered to protect him and handle Dexter.
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If Your A Sam Elliot FAN, You Will Enjoy This.
Made for television and it shows
You can see it is a television movie. There is not much quality to it. They didn't put a lot of effort making this movie. Maybe with a higher budget the movie could have been better. You could do something decent with the story, even though it's one of those typical I'm-a-good-guy-with-a-conscience-and-take-all-the-bad-guys-down-by-myself. It's a revenge action movie, but one without a budget, and I'm sorry to say not great acting. Sam Elliott has been better in other movies but in this one it's all cliché and average. It's clearly been made to entertain a television public on a rainy day. It's watchable but that's about it. I would rather pick another movie if you haven't seen this one. I'm sure you can find better without having to search too far.
Kind of a let down
Being a big Forsyth fan, I lapped this one up. The names, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton and Sam Elliott sounded good and I knew the book. But, I'm afraid something happened in the scripting of Forsyth's book because this film goes from the precision, step by step thriller that is the book to a plodding, happenstance event that disappoints rather than satisfies. The premise of the book is based on the gutsy exploits of the tunnel rats in Viet Nam who went into the tunnels after the enemy. The movie builds on that but loses it in the wrap-up. The ending works on too many circumstantial contingencies and loses the planning and excitement of Forsyth's style. In short, in comes off not bad but rather mediocre. Too bad, as this film had a lot of talent to work with and an exciting thriller. Too bad the script writer didn't know how to put together a workable ending.