The Package (1989)

Johnny Gallagher (Gene Hackman) is a sergeant guarding the peace negotiation in Germany with his men. They get attacked by a well organized group. Col. Glen Whitacre (John Heard) blames him for the failure as well as the failed hostage rescue in Iran. He suspects a group is aiming to assassin the President. Gallagher is ordered to take a prisoner (the package) disorderly sergeant Walter Henke (Tommy Lee Jones) back to the States. Henke escapes from the men's room at the airport with the help of several accomplices. Gallagher discovers that the man isn't actually Walter Henke. He enlists his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy)'s help. Henke's wife is killed by an assassin and Gallagher is detained. Eileen discovers the package's true identity is Thomas Boyette. There is a conspiracy from both militaries to stop the treaty. Gallagher and Eileen enlists his old friend Chicago Police Lieutenant Milan Delich (Dennis Franz)'s help.

The basic scheme doesn't make too much sense. It seems to be way too complicated and it would be simpler to leave Gallagher out of it. If they want Henke as the patsy, then they need to kill Gallagher at the airport or use one of their own men to transport Boyette. It's obvious the scheme is fashioned after the premise of Hackman and TLJ is hatched by the writer. By letting Gallagher go at the airport, he's obviously going to look and find out that the prisoner isn't actually Henke. The story needs a few more passes to iron out these problems. If one turns off the brain, this thriller goes on auto pilot and does a good job with that. Hackman is always capable in these kinds of tense thrillers. As a historical oddity, the movie was released at around the same time that the people were circumventing the Berlin Wall signaling the end of the Cold War. The movie is overtaken by history just as it was released.

Fmovies: This is a very good movie. It has a strong story (which most of the today's movies lack of) and a good relationship between characters. I have seen it a dozen times at least but I still find it rewarding to watch although I know it by heart. I think this should say something about the quality of the film. If you haven't seen it, do it. You won't regret it.

During this movie I had some fun to predict what will happen next. If you had watched (or read) many Thrillers with the Cold War as Topic it's quite easy. This movie is like a time travel back to 1980's. The music score was typical 80's as the photography of the action scenes. Not only the photography and the score were solid like all the actors. Gene Hackman was the leading cast next to Tommy Lee Jones, Dennis Franz, Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy. Gene Hackman is more or the less the same character as he was in many other thrillers. This time he is a good U.S. Sgt. who had some bad luck in his life but is still good enough to fight against all enemies of the U.S. Tommy Lee Jones is playing a villain and he always was great in such Roles. Hopefully he is doing more roles like that again in the future.

The suspenseful final wasn't without flaws but overall I enjoyed "The Package". Not the best Cold War Thriller but entertaining enough.

The Package fmovies. Gene Hackman plays Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher; stationed in Germany, he receives the order to escort a habitually rebellious soldier (Tommy Lee Jones) back to the States for a court-martial. When the soldier, or "package", escapes from him, Johnny realizes that some sort of master conspiracy is going on, and that he basically got used. With both police and the military after him, he will be able to rely on just a select few people for assistance, including his ex-wife Eileen (who is herself in the military), and his old friend Milan Delich (Dennis Franz), a lieutenant with the Chicago P.D.

Somewhat under rated, among the scattering of classics on director Andrew Davis' resume, "The Package" is a slick conspiracy thriller melding themes of political intrigue and paranoia. Written by John Bishop, it's not a great story at all, but it is pretty entertaining. Even this viewer had an idea fairly early on where the story was headed, and it didn't exactly prove him wrong.

Still, it's pretty easy to watch, thanks to typically sharp direction by Davis, efficient pacing, and excellent use of both German and Chicago locations. The Windy City was Davis' old stamping ground, and he uses a number of his repertory players (you'll certainly recognize some of them). Hackman is an engaging hero, and he and the effervescent Cassidy do have some nice chemistry. Jones, in the first of his three collaborations with Davis, gets to have some fun, and be somewhat enigmatic; his character is a total mercenary, yet you never really learn much about him. Franz has one of his best feature film roles, and is allowed to head into the final battle right at Hackmans' side. Pam Grier and Reni Santoni are somewhat under utilized, but John Heard, Kevin Crowley, Ron Dean, Nathan Davis (Andrews' father), Chelcie Ross, Joe Greco, and Marco St. John comprise a very fine supporting cast. Heard, in particular, exudes pompous villainy in a subtle way. You don't see him chewing on the scenery.

All in all, good fun, although it's the kind of thing that might not hold up to any intense scrutiny from the viewer.

Seven out of 10.

Gene Hackman is great in this good political thriller that has plenty of action, twists and surprises as he races against time to thwart an assassination attempt. The target of the hit is the Russian premier who's scheduled to visit Chicago and sign the disarmament treaty with the President that would end the threat of nuclear war. The movie takes off when Hackman's prisoner escapes from a Washington airport and sets in motion the events that lead to the picture's tense payoff. Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones have great chemistry between them during their brief screen time, and most of the film is about Hackman and Joanne Cassidy hunting for Jones while staying out of harm's way as unknown killers hunt them down. Dennis Franz and Thalmus Rasulala are good in supporting roles as the chase scenes intensify against the backdrop of Chicago's skyscrapers and downtown areas.

Tommy Lee Jones is "The Package," a prisoner that Gene Hackman is returning to the United States from Germany in this 1989 film also starring Joanna Cassidy, Dennis Franz and John Heard. The United States and the Soviet Union are in the midst of delicate peace negotiations, but there are factions of the military who don't want to see it happen. Jones is Tommy Boyette, their hired assassin who, through an intricate plot, is supposed to kill the soviet premier. Boyette escapes via a mens room while the Hackman character, Johnny Gallagher, is returning him to the states. Gallagher starts investigating; it's not long before he's uncovered the plot.

This is a very good movie with some exciting sequences and lots of tension, as Gallagher finds himself and everyone around him in tremendous danger as he figures out what's going on. He has the help of his ex-wife (Joanna Cassidy) who is in the military, and a Chicago police officer, played by Dennis Franz.

The problem with this film is in its timing - it was released in August 1989 in the U.S., and in November of that year, the Berlin Wall came down, rendering the film dated -- and it had only been released in two countries by then. It's nevertheless a well-acted, well-directed film. Seen today, it holds up better as a story set in the past than it did a story set in a present that was changing dramatically.