From the director of The Fugitive comes a brilliant, explosively entertaining action/thriller featuring powerful performances by OscarÂ(r) winners* Gene Hackman (Unforgiven) andTommy Lee Jones (Men in Black). Featurin... more »g a superb supporting cast that includes Dennis Franz ( N.Y.P.D. Blue ), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and John Heard (The Pelican Brief), this'top-notch thriller (The Associated Press) really delivers! Sergeant Johnny Gallagher (Hackman) thinks he's been given a routine assignment: to escort a rebellious American soldier (Jones) from Europe to the U.S. for a military court martial. Gallagher soon learns, however, that the assignment is anything but routine, when he uncovers a terrifying military conspiracy. The clock is ticking down to a historic superpower summit, and Gallagher must stop the deadly plot before it's too late...for him and his country. *Gene Hackman: Actor, The French Connection (1971); Supporting Actor, Unforgiven (1992); Tommy Lee Jones: Supporting Actor, The Fugitive (1993)« less
Took a bit to get going since the beginning was a bit rough. The ending was pretty entertaining and action packed!
Movie Reviews
Good thriller, lousy DVD.
Birthe Jrgensen | Odense, Denmark | 10/01/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Bravo MGM; you've managed yet again to screw up a great movie with a terrible DVD. -It's actually an ORION picture, and I'd hoped that they would've cared more about its appearance, but no such luck. Of my 100+ DVDs, this is one of the worst looking with dull colors and a fuzzy image. (Let's hope they're more careful with their upcoming Woody Allen ORION collection.) This is a rather oldfashioned straight-ahead action suspenser like they just don't make them anymore in Hollywood, but it's difficult to be thrilled about that when you know you can enjoy a much sharper version on TV. Hackman, Heard, Cassidy and Jones lead a good cast, but in order to see them clearly we desperately need a remastering of this otherwise wonderful movie. Until then, avoid like the plague."
A great political espionage film
Eric Finkelstein | 07/09/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Package is one of the best films about the end of the Cold War. The plot was interesting and easy to follow. The characters were impressive. I don't think that this was a weak or depressing film at all."
Skip it
L Gontzes | Athens, Greece | 07/07/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The Package was quite a disappointment considering the presence of Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones among others.
A U.S. sergeant witnesses the assassination of a high ranking American military officer during peace talks held in Germany between Washington and Moscow. Shortly after the incident he receives orders to return home accompanying a prisoner. Things quickly become more complicated when `the package' makes a run for it...
In short, the acting is all right (though nothing great), while the plot and the dialogues are average and below average respectively.
The movie does bring to mind The Fugitive, though this film does not really provide as much entertainment.
Though the potential for a good movie was definitely there it fails to take off, primarily due to the writers and the poor choice of lines and weak plot.
In a nutshell, it's a mediocre movie and that's about it; no masterpiece here... 2.2 Stars
"
It's "Fugitive" Lite!
Christopher Galvin | Columbus, OH USA | 02/11/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"just saw an amazingly clean print of this on one of the national cable channels, first viewing since theatrical release. What struck me immediately were the similarities to The Fugitive, director Andrew Davis' later film, most notably the Chicago shooting locations, actors, and plot elements. There's the Hilton Towers' ballroom (locale of the medical-conference confrontation between Drs. Kimble and Sykes)! There's the bagpipe parade! There's Ron Dean (Fugitive's Detective Kelly "Now you all know in what high regard I hold this scumbag") as a cop! Regardless, The Package never really gels as a thriller--and the Cold War denouement plot is obviously dated--although Davis' directorial style (lots of medium and long shots, few closeups, harsh and gloomy light/color) always gets points for relying on the music score rather than hyperkinetic editing to build tension. But it is fun to watch Hackman and Jones together (even if they're not exactly chewing up scenes with their usual aplomb) and more fun to check out the late-80s hair (Joanna Cassidy's is piled high; Dennis Franz actually has some)."
Strannix, are you there?
Pat Nava | San Francisco, CA | 09/12/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Why did it seem like Tommy Lee Jones was doing his 'Strannix thing" from "Under Siege" in this movie? The plot winds into predictable end that makes you say "Where have I seen this before?" The movie seemed like a ripoff of so many other political/assassination-type flicks I've seen before. Not many surprises (if any) in this movie."