Surprisingly incoherent and boring

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

„The Package" is a rather conventional thriller made by Hollywood in the 80's near the end of Cold War. The plot here isn't exactly complicated and it doesn't take long to figure out what is going on. There is some action and twists , but they aren't really memorable.Andrew Davis directs this with no passion . He did much better job on "The Fugitive" – a similar movie . There is solid cast in this film – Gene Hackman ("The French connection") , Joanna Cassidy ("Under fire") , Tommy Lee Jones ("Man in black") , Dennis Franz ("Die hard 2") , Pam Grier ("Jackie Brown") and Ron Dean ("The Dark knight"). Jones seems to have fun with his role and it's interesting that he worked with Davis twice more ("Under siege" and "The Fugitive"). Overall , acting is solid , but no revelation.The screenplay is logical , yet never manages to surprise the viewer. The dialogue are not bad and sometimes full of tension.All in all it's a watchable and not bad thriller . You could do better and you could do worse with your time . I give it 5/10.

This is a taut political thriller about the Cold War made and released just at the last moment, in 1989, after which these stories became passé. Gene Hackman plays a U.S. Army sergeant who becomes enmeshed in an international political and military conspiracy to prevent a peace treaty between the USA and the Soviet Union, and he and his wife, a U.S. Army Lieutenant-Colonel (played by Joanna Cassidy), have to run for their lives. On the one hand, they are trying to solve the conspiracy, but on the other hand they are trying to dodge all the nasty assassins who want to kill them. The film is well directed by Andrew Davis, who has directed numerous thriller and action films, such as the remake of the old TV series, the Harrison Ford version of THE FUGITIVE (1993). John Heard is icy cold as a scheming colonel who really works for the CIA. There is much attention given in this film to the CIA special ops people who are 'plants' inside the police, inside the Army, deeply throated and everywhere. Tommy Lee Jones plays the action villain, an expert sniper who doesn't care whom he kills as long as the pay is good. Dennis Franz plays Hackman's old chum from the Chicago Police who helps try to solve the conspiracy. The film is mostly set in Chicago, and the plan is to assassinate both the American president and the Russian leader who looks like Gorbachev. It is a nail-biting thriller, just the thing not to help you relax.

Gene Hackman is seasoned Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher, is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Tommy Lee Jones back to the US, but he subsequently evades Hackman's custody and escapes. All is not what it seems as the plot thickens when it appears that Jones is an assassin who is out to kill the President and visiting Russian Premier who is negotiating peace talks in Chicago. John Heard is a devious general who is out to thwart the treaty. Hackman is accompanied by 'Blade Runners' Joanna Cassidy who plays his ex-wife, Dennis Franz also assists Hackman in his race against time.Directed by Andrew Davis 'The Fugitive' 'Under Siege' it is a riveting and excellently Suspense filled Conspiracy cover up fans of Gene Hackmans will enjoy this, their are references to 'The French Connection' most notably in the car chase.

I watched The Package Last night and was mildly entertained by it. Hackman was his usual best and Tommy Lee Jones was very entertaining though he was not given enough screen time. The director seemed more amused by Russian eye brows. That being said I would like to take issue with comments that it was outdated. It was not outdated for its time. That would be like saying MUNICH was outdated because it happened over thirty years ago.Get with it. If the story took place today ... yes it would be outdated. It didn't. It obviously took place in the mid to late 80s before the wall came down.Good pedestrian film.