In the Line of Fire - Die zweite Chance

Wolfgang Petersen wechselte von einer gut lesbaren Autorenhandschrift zu einem einigermaßen einheitlichen amerikanischen Stil. Aus meiner Sicht ist das schade, auch wenn ich beim Anschauen von Die zweite Chance ein wenig zögere. Es ist eine wirklich gute, wenn auch in gewisser Weise routinierte Aufsatzübung zum Thema "Ich bin ein Freak, ich will eine mächtige Person (den Präsidenten der USA) töten, und ein positiver Held Ltd. steht mir im Weg". Würde der Wahnsinnige nicht von John Malkovich mit prinzipienloser und unmenschlicher Kälte dargestellt und der positive Held vom angemessen wind- und lebensgebeutelten Clint Eastwood, wäre dieses Drama nur ein Fußsoldat in einer riesigen Menge gewesen. Aber das Gambit von Frank Horrigan und Mitch Leary ist es wirklich wert. Es birgt starke Gefühle, ist unberechenbar, fesselnd und mitreißend. Der Film von Petersen steht und fällt mit ihm. Nun - ganz sicher steht es eher, als dass es fällt. Auch beim dritten Mal ein hervorragendes Zuschauererlebnis. (14.07.2004)

Great old-school work. The Eastwood / Malkovich exchanges send chills down your spine. Not much action - Clint was a bit too old by the time they made this - but Petersen keeps you sitting on the edge of your seats. Yum. (26.06.2016)

Smarter than it seems at first glance. According to the cover and visual aesthetics, it looks like Clint Eastwood is playing another one of his tough American heroes who always comes out on top, but that's not the case. In The Line of Fire is now a classic thriller with outstanding performances and a solid screenplay, which benefits primarily from the believability of the plot and the excellently sketched main characters. Eastwood plays a notably down-to-earth, gruff, and outdated agent accompanied by memories of an unpleasant past, while John Malkovich portrays a precisely calculating killer. Well-crafted dialogues, excellently paced tempo, and several decent action scenes. The whole film carries itself in an exceptionally realistic manner, which ultimately works to its advantage. Thoughtful, austere, and made with maximum dedication. (26.01.2014)

As part of Mr. Douglas's extensive schooling, I was forced to watch In the Line of Fire four times in two weeks in order to do the required formal analysis, and the result far exceeded, in a good way, my initial reluctance to watch Rene Russo when I can look at Andrea Veresova's Instagram. Fortunately, this isn't about Rene Russo, it's about Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich first and foremost, the parallel development and escalation of the relationship between two hostile players in their joint long-distance run, at the end of which there are only two options: a living president or a dead president. Don't be under any illusions, it's clear from the start how everything will turn out, but I tip my hat all the more to Petersen, who plays out the conflict between the two rivals so engagingly, keeping the viewer under constant pressure of curiosity and suspense thanks to a perfectly balanced narrative structure, the progressively heightened motivations of the lead characters and the thoughtful twists and turns or the regular alternation of intimate and intensely edited converging sequences, that I could manage a fifth or sixth screening. Morricone does his standard excellent job, Eastwood has perhaps never been more likeable and John Malkovich is Mr. Bad Guy, he really gives me the chills… (27.01.2017)