The excellent cast is the main reason to watch this passable drama, even though they have been better utilized in other films. As it is, the movie is pretty forgettable, if competently made. Stanley Kramer, legendary helmer of such classics as "Inherit the Wind, "Judgment at Nuremberg", and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", directs from a script by Adam Kennedy, who adapts his own novel. There's violence, plot twists, and an unconvincing romance as part of this not terribly interesting tale.
It begins as a narrator forces us to ponder the idea that we are all manipulated at some point in our lives. It then goes on to show us a none-too-bright schmuck who lets himself get jerked around, to his great regret. That man is Roy Tucker (Gene Hackman), who's doing time for murder and who gets sprung from jail by one of those standard-issue shady organizations that we've all seen in movies that are up to no good. Roy finds out that he's been recruited as an assassin, but it remains to be seen if he'll actually grow a brain and stop letting himself be used.
Most of the actors try their best, although Candice Bergen, who'd previously played Hackmans' young wife in the grim, violent Western "The Hunting Party", is miscast in a deglamourized role and simply looks uncomfortable. Co-starring are Richard Widmark, Edward Albert, and Eli Wallach as assorted heavies, Mickey Rooney as Tuckers' cellmate, Ken Swofford as a warden, and Jay Novello as an immigration officer. Also helping to keep this thing watchable are effective photography and fine scenery, as well as a nice score by Billy Goldenberg. Otherwise, this isn't exactly stimulating, and in the end it sure isn't surprising.
If one is a fan of the talent assembled, they may see this as a mild diversion.
Five out of 10.
It begins as a narrator forces us to ponder the idea that we are all manipulated at some point in our lives. It then goes on to show us a none-too-bright schmuck who lets himself get jerked around, to his great regret. That man is Roy Tucker (Gene Hackman), who's doing time for murder and who gets sprung from jail by one of those standard-issue shady organizations that we've all seen in movies that are up to no good. Roy finds out that he's been recruited as an assassin, but it remains to be seen if he'll actually grow a brain and stop letting himself be used.
Most of the actors try their best, although Candice Bergen, who'd previously played Hackmans' young wife in the grim, violent Western "The Hunting Party", is miscast in a deglamourized role and simply looks uncomfortable. Co-starring are Richard Widmark, Edward Albert, and Eli Wallach as assorted heavies, Mickey Rooney as Tuckers' cellmate, Ken Swofford as a warden, and Jay Novello as an immigration officer. Also helping to keep this thing watchable are effective photography and fine scenery, as well as a nice score by Billy Goldenberg. Otherwise, this isn't exactly stimulating, and in the end it sure isn't surprising.
If one is a fan of the talent assembled, they may see this as a mild diversion.
Five out of 10.