It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I've seen 20+ Eastwood movies and he has done a good job with both characters, Pardner and angry guy. This isn't the one with Pardner. If you want a real treat, watch Paint Your Wagon and hear him sing love songs. I'm not kidding. The treat isn't the love songs, they're the weakest link in the show, it's him trilling them out.OK, back to this flick. It has a fantastic cast. Well, it has Eastwood and that's fantastic. It also has some action AND some old jokes. Seriously, he was old and they plowed that comedic field very well.The only fail for me was Russo. Ever since she advised kids to not take school seriously I have found her repugnant in every way.Russo aside, this is a decent show. I can watch it every 7 - 10 years.

Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) is still plagued with anxieties 30 years after the death of President Kennedy. Horrigan felt that he could have done more to try to prevent Kennedy from being assassinated and continues to blame himself for this tragic occurrence. 30 years later, Horrigan finds himself being taunted by a man who tells him that he is going to kill the president. In order to prevent another assassination, Horrigan sets to work in trying to discover the identity of the would be assassin whilst doing his utmost to protect the President.I've mentioned in my summary that there were some minor plotting problems with this film so I will address these issues first; it's established early in the film that Horrigan blames himself for Kennedy's death and sees this assassination attempt as a means to prove to himself, and to everyone else, that he can adequately protect the President. OK, that's fine, but I wasn't completely taken with the way that the story was set-up (it came across to me as Horrigan being on some kind of self-pitying guilt trip). This is only a minor problem because despite this Horrigan is still focused on the job at hand and therefore it's still very easy to develop a rooting interest in his character - I only wish the story would have been set-up in a different way. I also felt that Leary's (John Malkovich) motivations were a little thin and not entirely believable. The pacing of the film is also a little uneven. Now for the good bits....Where the film is at its strongest is in the various scenes between Horrigan and Leary. In these scenes, a slow-burning psychological battle of wits begins to develop between the two men (Leary clearly has the upper hand at the start, but Horrigan's dogged determination soon sees him begin to close the gap). Director Wolfgang Peterson makes many of these scenes cold and menacing by not showing all of Leary's face at the start - yes it's not original, but it's simple, effective and helps to create tension. The screenplay is also relatively clever and had enough intelligence and depth to make sure that my interest never truly waned.The performances across the board are variable, but once again it's John Malkovich that steals the show from everyone here. Malkovich is one of my favourite actors and his sociopathic performance here was wonderful to watch. Eastwood is also good here and I liked the way that the writers made his character feel believable - he was in his early 60's when this was made and therefore his character is human here rather than super human (he has heart problems and fitness issues) which makes sense given his age and his lengthy career in a somewhat stressful job.In The Line Of Fire is a very good film that is exciting, suspenseful and intense. There are also very few dull spots which isn't bad considering its running time. It's a race against time film/psychological thriller and the two elements mix well together creating a very impressive film.

This film,in my opinion, is up there with dirty harry, Gran Torino and million dollar baby, Eastwood best films hes acted/directed in. I have absolutely no problems with this film whatsoever it is suspenseful, romantic, powerful and never has a dull moment. Obviously its not as good as the likes of Shawshank, the godfather and se7en but still similar to films likes of phone booth, rocky 2 and die hard 4.0 have been hard done by by the the critics.I would highly recommend this film to anyone who really listens to the dialogue and enjoys suspenseful thrillers. Again Eastwood never fails to please me.

If you can stand the Hollywood Conceit of Romance with Sloppy kissing and groping between a Geezer and a Thirty-Something Hottie you might give this one a Pass because it is an Above Average Thriller with a Venomous Villain. If you can believe Clint Eastwood as a Jazz Pianist you might give this a Pass because it has much more going for it.There are a number of Suspenseful Set-Pieces and John Malkovich without doubt steals the Film from the One-Note Eastwood who really struggles delivering Lines at times and is unwatchable as He exchanges Loving Stares with Rene Russo. Overall, this is kept from sinking to Cringe inducing Territory by a Multi-Faced Malkovich that is as Creepy as they come. It moves along at a brisk pace and it needs too as it moves quickly from badly Written exchanges and exposition Scenes among Good Ol Boy Ballbusting and a predictable Sub-Plot with a Partner that is never fleshed out and comes across as totally Contrived.A Watchable Film that tries just a little too hard to be Heady, and the best of it outweighs those excruciating Filler bits and delivers an Entertaining, but Puffed-Up Piece of Product.