Writer: Jeff Maguire
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, John Mahoney, Gary Cole, Dylan McDermott, Fred Dalton Thomas
Rating: R
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date:July 1, 2008

Before Clint Eastwood was a director that wowed the crowds in the capacity that he does these days, he was an actor that often did the same thing. Eastwood’s illustrious career includes mainly Westerns and action flicks. Thankfully, In the Line of Fire is the latter of the two categories. I tend to think of this movie as his lead-in to action retirement. He did a few action movies after this, but it was one of the last before he began focusing more on being behind the camera rather than in front of it.

Eastwood is usually quite entertaining to watch. Even in less than flattering movies, he manages to hold his part well at all times. This strays from the model of perfection brought on by most action films, which are not weighed by the acting or actors, but rather the death count and special effects explosions. However, when you find Eastwood in an action flick you know that he is going to give his all, and maybe that means a better movie than you originally perceived.

Release Information:
Based on a book of the same name, In the Line of Fire made enough of an impression on audiences to gain three Academy Award Nominations. The film was nominated for supporting actor (John Malkovich), best screenplay, and editing. Fans of action films and Eastwood shared the sentiment of the Academy. While this film only cost about $40 million to make, it made over $176,997,168 worldwide, over $102,000,000 of this money was made in North America alone.

A special edition of this film was released back in 2001 and now that Blu-Ray is the newest thing it seemed only fitting that In the Line of Fire was released in a suitable format. With that in mind, on July 1, 2008, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-Ray. The disc includes the movie transfer and several bonus features to round out the set. You should be able to find this anywhere that blu-rays are sold, including Amazon where it retails for just under $20.

The In the Line of Fire - Blu-Ray Plot
In the Line of Fire offers a bit of political action for your viewing pleasure. The main players here are all Secret Service Agents, who are out to protect the President, although as seen in the opening sequence of the film the agency has many capacities, some of which includes undercover work. The film opens with Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood - Rawhide) and Al D’Andrea (Dylan McDermott - Hamburger Hill) working undercover, attempting to bust up a counterfeiting ring. The leader of the ring, Mendoza (Tobin Bell - Saw I-IV) suspects that Al is a fraud and makes Horrigan prove that he’s not one, as well.

Eastwood plays an aging Secret Service agent that knows the taste of defeat. He’s the only Secret Service Agent on duty to have ever lost a president on his watch. Horrigan was in Dallas, Texas protecting Kennedy the day he died. Tormented by his failure to do something more, Horrigan spends his days trying to break up counterfeiting rings and handling the occasionally investigation concerning threats to the President.

Fire is all about one of those threats. Mitch Leary (John Malkovich - Beowulf), otherwise known simply as Booth, has a slight obsession with assassinations, particularly the Kennedy assassination and Horrigan’s part in it all. Thus begins the cat and mouse game that gets rolling with Booth’s intent to kill the President. Of course, he only tells Horrigan enough to keep him moving forward.

Having to work with the folks on presidential detail proves to be a bothersome necessity at best. Many do not like Horrigan. Harry Sargent (Fred Dalton Thompson - The Hunt for Red October) feels that Horrigan is an interference at best. Meanwhile, Lilly Raines (Rene Russo - Major League) tries to offer a level of compassion, even though her demeanor in initial meetings was anything but welcoming.

It is up to Horrigan to get the legwork done so that he can catch Booth and stop this plan of assassination from happening. As he follows the clues it leads him right to where it should. The problem is that the showdown is in the most unlikely spot. The wrong move at the wrong second, could cost the lives of anyone in the way. It’s up to Horrigan to see that the damage is minimal, although, the question remains…is he up for the job?

Malkovich makes the perfect villain, while Eastwood seems to be the perfect guy to stop him. This film offers an excellent moment for cinema in the 90s. The story is well told, with characters that are dynamic and precise in their actions. The story is tense and the action is as high as it needs to be at any given time. While the story was excellent, I have to give it up to the actors. You don’t expect the best performances in an action film, but it is easy to see why Malkovich was nominated. Not only are the major players great, the small parts are handled well, too, which only pulls everything together that much more.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
This is not the best blu-ray transfer that I have ever seen, but it certainly has its moments. In the Line of Fire is offered an AVC MPEG-4 encode with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The result, at times, is phenomenal, and at other times, is disappointing. It is this level of inconsistency that makes the transfer average. When the film is at its best there is no stone left unturned. The colors are bright and crisp, and every detail takes center stage no matter how small. At its best, this quality is stunning and well representing of what Blu-Ray is all about. However, as good as it can get, there are moments when the background image and the once sharp colors fade into normalcy and become rather disappointing for a high definition transfer.

Like with the video, the audio is somewhat blah, as well. I expected more for a Dolby TrueHD track, though I will readily admit that I did not get what I was expecting. I had to play with my volume quite a bit, because the dialogue had a tendency to err on the quiet side. I am unable to compare this to the 2001 version though specs tell me that it should sound better. Of course, these specs tell me that this should sound better, too, so who knows. In addition to the English soundtrack, Portuguese and French tracks in TrueHD 5.1 are also included.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are quite a few bonus features available on this release for In the Line of Fire. I am going to take a stab and assume that many (if not all) of these features are implants from the 2001 special edition disc of the movie. Either way, fans of the film will enjoy the bulk of these special features, which begin with a commentary from the director, Wolfgang Petersen. The commentary is well thought out and interesting to hear. Petersen talks about a variety of things including the actors. While I am not always hip to the commentaries, I didn’t mind this one, so that’s got to be a plus.

Next up is a Showtime feature on the Secret Service that lasts for nearly 20 minutes. This is hosted by a retired agent, Bob Snow, who also worked on the film as a technical advisor. The cast is interviewed along with their real life counterparts in order to gain some insight into the profession and the film. The next feature is, “The Ultimate Sacrifice”. At 22 minutes (give or take a few) this deals with a lot of the same things we’ve seen already, including cast interviews. Along with these two features, there are at least two other features, including “How’d They Do That” and “Catching the Counterfeiters”.

There are some deleted scenes available though when you watch them it is obvious as to why they are deleted scenes. Overall, these do not add any viewing enjoyment. They are rather purposeless and fall flat as quickly as you can watch them. On a positive note, they weren’t in the film, so that’s a good thing. You might want to skip these unless you’re a glutton for punishment. The only other thing on this disc is some previews. Damages, Vantage Point, and other Sony properties have their trailers displayed on this disc.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
If you have In the Line of Fire’s Special Edition from 2001 and are not planning to move your entire collection to Blu-Ray then I recommend sticking with what you have. The film is excellent, but the transfers of audio and video are not as impressive as one expects Blu-Ray to be. With that in mind, if you can save your money, do it. If you don’t have the special edition, this isn’t a bad option. I recommend it for people that do not have the disc in any other form or for people that only have blu-ray players. Otherwise, everyone else can sit tight with what they have.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, John Mahoney, Gary Cole, Dylan McDermott, Fred Dalton Thomas, Action, Assassination, President, Kennedy

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