In the Line of Fire

Name: In the Line of Fire
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: July 9, 1993
Duration: 128 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo

1993

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 111 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 111 Ratings

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In The Line Of Fire

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 9, 1993 | R

Starring: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo

Summary: Eastwood stars as Frank Horrigan, a veteran Secret Service agent haunted by his failure to protect John F. Kennedy from assassination. Thirty years later, he gets a chance to redeem himself when a brilliant psychopath threatens to kill the current president and take Horrigan with him. [Sony Pictures]

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 128 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Vincent Canby

It's movie making of the high, smooth, commercial order that Hollywood prides itself on but achieves with singular infrequency. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not credited)

The result is a finely tuned suspense thriller, though executives who have recently laid off trained killers may experience some discomfort. Read full review

Terrence Rafferty

Both Eastwood's performance and the movie itself have the quality of meat-and-potatoes genre-picture entertainment: nothing fancy, nothing unusual. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

With all of that going for it, it's hard to see how In the Line of Fire could be anything less than rock-solid entertainment-and, indeed, it is. Yet it's never more than that. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Petersen takes what could have been a muddled motion picture and structures it perfectly, creating a strong piece of entertainment. It helps, of course, that he has a capable cast. Read full review

Susan Wloszczyna

In the tautly terrific thriller In the Line of Fire , Clint Eastwood toys with his own grizzled-vet screen image like a frisky kitten with a yarn ball. [09 Jul 1993 Pg. 01.D]

Hal Hinson

Working from the script by Jeff Maguire, director Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot") plods through the narrative as if he were completely unconcerned with giving it even a semblance of credibility. Read full review

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User Reviews

gracjanski

Apr 3, 2021

Top thriller with great performances by Eastwood and Malkovich. Especially the character Booth is a perfect bad guy: very intelligent and therefore so dangerous. the psychological games between Eastwood and Malkovich are the best in the movie.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Mglovesfun

Jan 8, 2020

John Malkovich gives one of the greatest performances I've ever seen, with Eastwood not far behind. An intense, evenly paced, gripping thriller.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Steven1981

Mar 22, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In the Line of Fire is a 1993 drama thriller starring Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo and John Malkovich.... Clint Eastwood plays some secret service dude and Rene Russo plays someone in the service too. John Malkovich gives the cops and secret service people the run around and genuinely has fun in the movie and probably more so than Eastwood if I'm totally honest. John Malkovich is telling Clint Eastwood that he's gonna assassinate the president which is a criminal offence even if you don't mean it and people end up dead even before he attempts to kill the president and on foot and roof chases take place as Eastwood is attempts to catch the villain but fails and also the villain in question (Malkovich) changes disguises regularly and uses false names to confuse everyone except the audience who aren't as gullible. Some romance happens between secret service workers Eastwood and actress Rene Russo and the film has some action scenes. Only downside about In the Line of Fire is not the acting, performances, storyline and overall plot and action but the chemistry between Rene Russo and Clint Eastwood because at times it seems out of place and Clint Eastwood is probably old enough to be Rene Russo's grandad so the idea of love and romance is pretty disturbing but otherwise this is a great movie.… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

heeldavid

May 6, 2014

This Wolfgang Peterson picture is full of amazing compelling elements, John Malkovich puts on one of his most underrated performances, and Clint Eastwood is at his best as Frank Horrigan.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

Maxthor

Aug 12, 2023

Wolfgang Petersen's direction and orchestration set a strong tone for the film, and John Malkovich's standout performance adds an extra layer of brilliance to this occasionally lackluster thriller.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

eva3si0n

Jun 3, 2023

In the Line of Fire is a classic crime action movie of the early 90s. He can attract primarily with an acting duo of the main characters. Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich fit perfectly into their roles. Unfortunately, the film itself is not a thriller, which would suit him much more thanIn the Line of Fire is a classic crime action movie of the early 90s. He can attract primarily with an acting duo of the main characters. Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich fit perfectly into their roles. Unfortunately, the film itself is not a thriller, which would suit him much more than the action genre. If there was a constant suspense here and the viewer had tension when watching, watching more than 2 hours would be more exciting. In the Line of Fire fails by the middle of the film, and only the magnificent ending saves. And if Clint Eastwood played his role in a typical role, John Malkovich gave a real performance. Perhaps one of the best roles in his career.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Dec 29, 2016

Voici Papy Clint qui reprend du service à courir à côté de la bagnole de "l'homme le plus puissant du monde" (sic ! ces Américains...) parce qu'il n'a pas encore digéré l'assassinat de Kennedy et que surtout un détraqué l'appelle tous les soirs pour lui confier son projet de buter le "chefVoici Papy Clint qui reprend du service à courir à côté de la bagnole de "l'homme le plus puissant du monde" (sic ! ces Américains...) parce qu'il n'a pas encore digéré l'assassinat de Kennedy et que surtout un détraqué l'appelle tous les soirs pour lui confier son projet de buter le "chef du monde libre" (tu m'en diras tant...!).

Mouais, on a vu mieux comme point de départ... et à parler franchement, c'est carrément bancal voire complètement con. En fait, ça ne tiendrait pas une seule minute si le détraqué n'était le si présent et si dense John Malkovitch tombé dans le charisme quand il était petit et qui met à mal notre Papy Clint poussé dans ses derniers retranchements et vieux tics d'inspecteur Harry en pré-retraite.

Commence alors un jeu du chat et de la souris assez bien fichu mais qui ne tient pas sur la longueur. Le film tire en effet un peu trop sur la corde du blabla, se perd en amourette avec la grue Rene Russo au menton en galoche pour un final finalement très convenu. Il reste la réalisation très soignée de Petersen et la musique un peu fatiguée de Morricone pour faire passer la pillule in extremis. Mais bon dieu que c'est limite !… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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