The Package | | Cast : | Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones | | Director : | Andrew Davis | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 25, 1989 | | DVD Released Date : | May 01, 2001 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 20, 2005 | | Summary | A Well Done Military Suspense Thriller, With Gene Hackman | Content
 | This movie has always seemed to me to be one of the most efficient, best crafted of its type, the military suspense thriller. And one of the most under-rated, too.
Gene Hackman stars as Sergeant Johnny Gallagher, an Army lifer who finds himself up to his ears in a ruthless conspiracy to assassinate the Soviet leader when the man visits Chicago. Gallagher had been stationed in West Berlin. His squad failed to stop the assassination of a U.S. Army general who had been taking part in a top military meeting in the outskirts of Berlin. Semi-disgraced, he is given the job of escorting an Army sergeant under arrest, the package, to Washington. But he's mugged in the D.C. airport and the prisoner escapes. Then he discovers the photo of the prisoner doesn't match the guy he was escorting. As he tries to find out what's going on, people start getting killed.
This movie works, I think, for several reasons. First, we know what's going on before Gallagher does, so there is the pleasure of watching him figure things out. There is a conspiracy, we realize, involving top U.S. and Soviet generals to sabotage the signing of a nuclear disarmament treaty. This will be done by killing the Soviet leader in Chicago on a visit to sign the treaty. The assassin, Tommy Lee Jones, is being provided by the senior American officers taking part in the plot. Gallagher at first stumbles around, but slowly, using his intelligence and with the help of the few friends he can count on, he begins to put things together. We know where this is going, but the fun is in seeing how Gallagher thinks and then acts. Second, Hackman's performance, as usual, is excellent. Hackman was 59 when he made this movie, but he is every bit believable as a shrewd, action-focused Army sergeant. He's nearly matched by Tommy Lee Jones as the cynical, amused hit man who doesn't respect anyone. Dennis Franz as a tough Chicago cop and John Heard as a ruthless Army colonel both give first-rate performances. Third, Andrew Davis keeps the movie moving quickly, with clues discovered, shoot-outs, near misses, chases. The plot is complicated, but Davis plays fair. Watch the movie again and it still makes sense.
It's interesting to compare this movie or The Fugitive, both by Davis, with an other good movie he directed, Holes. The Package and The Fugitive couldn't be more different than Holes, but all three, in my view, are very well handled. The DVD transfer is very good. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 31, 2005 | | Summary | STRONG PERFORMANCES HIGHLIGHT THIS THRILLER | Content
| Somehow "The Package" seems to have become one of those films that fell through the cracks of the general public interest and has never received the credit it deserves as a top-notch action/thriller. With a cast featuring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones you have two magnificent, veteran actors who play well off each other throughout. Hackman plays Career soldier Johnny Gallagher assigned to deliver a package from Berlin to the United States. The package just happens to be Thomas Boyette (Jones)who is a military prisoner.
Once returned to the states, Boyette manages to escape and now begins a cat and mouse game as Gallagher races to find the fugitive who turns out to be an assassin with plans on killing a Soviet Leader and breaking the cold war peace process. Boyette uses clever diguises to avoid capture as he plans his kill. Gallagher receives some much needed assistanc in the form of his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy) and Dennis Franz playing yet another tough cop as Detective Milan. Pam Grier and John Heard round out the stellar cast.
Director Andrew Davis would direct Tommy Lee Jones in two more thrillers "under Siege" and "The Fugitive" and proves himself quite deft at handling action/thrillers and mixing between the intrigue and gunplay very well. Hackman is just always a joy to watch and brings such beleivability to every role he plays. This is a top-notch thriller! |
| Rating | | | Date | September 19, 2004 | | Summary | Pre-packaged thriller cliches | Content
| Gene Hackman plays a career army man who is duped into transporting a prisoner to the US as part of a complicated assassination scheme in this tired, contrived relic of Cold War paranoia. High ranking military officials on both sides are in cahoots to derail disarmament talks and Hackman, along with ex-wife Joanna Cassidy, are the only ones who can stop them. Stock secondary characters are on hand to provide a piece of needed information or pull our heroesEfat out of the fire and then die on schedule as required by the screenplay so that the viewer can feel the Sense of Danger and Urgency. The twists and turns of the plot are uninvolving and the climax is thoroughly conventional. The talented cast does what it can to elevate the proceedings. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 14, 2004 | | Summary | Yearning for Kojak | Content
| My husband and 19-year-old daughter abandoned me in the TV room about halfway through. They didn't miss much. Tommy Lee had some funny lines. Gene Hackman was good, but it was painful to watch, knowing how much more he can do. I have to watch "The Conversation" about 5 more times so I can wash away the bad memory of this clunker. The motivations of the characters were beyond contrived, the music was on the level of Baretta, and the minor players were utterly forgettable. The best scene was in the first quarter of the movie, when Hackman and Jones meet, and some sparks fly. Once that's over, you can watch something else. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 06, 2004 | | Summary | A Great Political Suspense Thriller | Content
| Andrew Davis directs this 1989 political thriller starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones. A great spy thriller that keeps its audience in mystery and suspense until almost the end. Along with 'Hunt for Red October' and 'Patriot Games', this is one of the better spy/political thrillers to come out of the late 80s and early 90s.
In this film, Gene Hackman is an officer stationed in Germany who's assigned to pick up a miscreant soldier (Tommy Lee Jones) coming from Berlin. Hackman loses his precious cargo when in the US and finds some very strange inconsistencies as he searches for him. Uncovering a major political plot, Hackman races against time to clear himself and expose the culprits.
An excellent political thriller with very good acting on the part of Hackman and Jones. A good movie to either rent or own. |
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