The concentration on character and family values in Arthur Penn's spy thriller ought to make it a better, more intelligent movie, but somehow it doesn't work. Gene Hackman is an ex-CIA spy who's been "in from the cold" for 15 years. But now his wife has been kidnapped in Paris, and he has to get back into top gear in order to retrieve her. He also has to tell the truth about his past to his 18 year old son (Matt Dillon), who hitherto has thought his dad as much a man of action as Mr Magoo. There are all the contrivances we expect in this genre of film - repeated attempts on Hackman's life; car chases; femmes fatales; CIA agents who might be working for the other side; etc, etc. But little tension is developed, and first the recriminations and then the bonding between Hackman and Dillon simply slow the action down. I found the climax a tad ludicrous, but by that time didn't care much.
