THE PACKAGE
A film review by George Moore
Copyright 1989 George Moore
THE PACKAGE is one of the better political/spy/action movies I've seen in a while. Starring an impressive list of big-name stars (Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Tommy Lee Jones, John Heard) it manages to remain suspenseful throughout most of the movie without being overly predictable. Some other films of this genre tend to be easily figured out within the first half-hour of the film.
Army Master Sgt. Gallagher (Gene Hackman) is called upon to transport a "package" -- Tommy Lee Jones -- from Germany back to the US for court martial. The Package escapes in JFK airport, which results in Hackman uncovering an international plot to short-circuit world peace negotiations. After enlisting the aid of his ex-wife, Lt. Colonel Gallagher (Joanna Cassidy) and a Chicago police detective (played by the same actor who played Lt. Buntz on "Hill Street Blues." Geez, he had the same suit, same mannerisms, even some of the same lines. Talk about typecasting), they are hot on the trail of Tommy Lee Jones.
The way in which The Evil Plot is presented is entirely believable. There are quite probably some military types in both the US and Russian armies who would attempt something of this sort. Even the spoken Russian is accurate, something very few movies can lay claim to. Gene Hackman plays ... well, he plays Gene Hackman ... which is quite all right, since most everyone expects a certain set of actions which Hackman is famous for. The pacing is fine, slowing down only a little when Joanna Cassidy is on screen. My major gripe is that Joanna Cassidy is never quite believable as a full Lt. Colonel. It seems someone would need a lot of iron will and determination to achieve that rank, and Cassidy with her high heels and hysterical screaming doesn't pull it off.
This film is rated R, mainly for language and violence (although the body count isn't high -- rating one pint o' blood on the Joe-Bob scale). I would rate it a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale, mainly for lack of plot holes normally found in these movies. Go see it.
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