Weekend Buff

In the Line of Fire (1993)

In light of recent events such as the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the disastrous fallout within the Secret Service, and the two conventions, the Clint Eastwood film In the Line of Fire (1993) seemed an appropriate choice for this installment of Weekend Buff.

In the Line of Fire depicts Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan, an aging and prickly Secret Service Agent. The biggest moment in his career was his failure at Dealey Square in November 1963. He is facing off against psychotic killer Mitch Leary, who is intent on killing the President and tormenting Horrigan. Leary is played by the always excellent John Malkovich. Eastwood is supported by his partner played by Dylan McDermott, and fellow agent and love interest, Rene Russo. Russo is often underrated and gives a good performance here, displaying some chemistry with Eastwood.

The film is essentially a fed side knock off of the early Dirty Harry movies, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s the unorthodox and crochety cop against the psycho killer. The formula works, so don’t mess with it. Director Wolfgang Peterson (Das Boot, Enemy Mine) does a good job of portraying some of the challenges that Secret Service Agents face - hours of tedium, moves to offices around the country, pulling agents from field offices to cover details, etc. He also gets into some of the investigations that the Secret Service conduct into counterfeiting and credit card fraud. Secret Service Agents put some fantastic cases together and, in my experience, are great to work with.

The film is a thriller. Twists and turns and moments of high drama. Peterson does a good job keeping you on the edge of your seat. It is not as predictable a movie as it might appear.

I was a bit caught up in the era. It’s 1993, the early days of the internet and wider use of computers in policing. Desktops are big, blocky, and beige. It is amazing how far the law enforcement specifically and the world in general has come. 1993 doesn’t seem that long ago. Typing on carbon paper forms was still de rigueur in the NYPD and would remain so for a decade. Not the best way to do things but a bit of nostalgia was nice.

In the Line of Fire runs a bit longer than the usually thriller at 2 hours and 8 minutes. It’s not a bad thing here, the movie is very well done and uses the time wisely. Character development and storyline gives the film a uniqueness in the genre. You can catch the movie on MGM+ or pay the usual $4 on all streaming services. Enjoy a well done thriller and appreciate the hard work of the Secret Service Agents on the ground with In the Line of Fire.

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!