646f9e108c When American Donna Lloyd is kidnapped during a trip to Europe, her son Chris and her husband Walter start searching for her. Chris Lloyd does NOT get along with his father Walter. Walter is too careful, cautious, and boring to Chris, and never tries anything new, and Chris had to live by the same standards when he was growing up. But when his mother is kidnapped while in Europe, to Chris's confusion, Walter suddenly turns into a man of action. Just who is his father anyway. This thriller sees former spy Gene Hackman running around Paris, meeting various contacts and battling a rather nasty enemy in the form of a man with glasses who doesn't think twice about bumping off those who stand in his way. This has some fairly tense and exciting moments but it's let down by a plodding running time and, towards the end of the film, in the last half an hour, nothing really happens. The plot falls apart and the sense of pacing which filled the first half of the film evaporates, instead boredom sets in.<br/><br/>Hackman is as good as he ever was, a real tough guy and charismatic too. Matt Dillon is well cast as his unlikely son who finds himself caught up in all sorts of espionage and intrigue. The rest of the people are minor characters who are quite forgettable, especially the villains who get far too little screen time and aren't really that threatening anyway. There are a couple of good car chases, explosions and some nice action bits but overall this film is a missed opportunity - for a good Paris-based thriller try either THE FRENCH CONNECTION II or RONIN, which do tend to make better use of scenery and help to emphasise Paris' claustrophobic architecture. OK; it IS a bit trite, but still an edge-of-the-seater nonetheless. Surprises galore to keep your imagination occupied, though thriller buffs will predict most of them. I found that part of the fun: keeping score of how many "surprises" i anticipated. Still, the denouement packs punch and satisfies. Great performances by most of the cast, esp. Hackman, who always has that knack of being 'perfect' for the part, doesn't he? and Damon, very apt in this early role. The art direction is superb, the location shooting very convincing. If you like thrillers/whoodunits you WILL be entertained. I gave it only a 7 because reading Sartre is probably a better use of two hours….
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