The Package (1989)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer (WGA):

John Bishop (written by)

Release Date:

25 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's one man racing against time to stop the most explosive conspiracy in history.

Plot:

Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.

Plot Keywords:

Prisoner | Sergeant | Airport | Ex Wife | Escape

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 29	1:00 AM	AMC
Wed. July 29	12:30 PM	AMC

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Sgt. Johnny Gallagher
Joanna Cassidy	...	Eileen Gallagher
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Thomas Boyette
John Heard	...	Col. Glen Whitacre
Dennis Franz	...	Lt. Milan Delich
Pam Grier	...	Ruth Butler
Kevin Crowley	...	Walter Henke
Ron Dean	...	Karl Richards
Nathan Davis	...	Soviet Press Secretary
Chelcie Ross	...	Gen. Hopkins
Joe Greco	...	Gen. Carlson
Ike Pappas	...	Himself
Marco St. John	...	Marth
Reni Santoni	...	Chicago Police Lieutenant
Michael Skewes	...	MP

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Astrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Australia:M | USA:R (certificate #29795) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The "christmas present" Walter Henke gets, the rifle - which is identical to Boyette's assassin weapon, of course - is indeed Austrian as Henke says, it's a Steyr AUG Bullpup 5.56mm universal rifle, manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Toward the beginning of the movie, the Brig. General steps outside of the summit without his cover on. Military personnel are always "covered" (wearing a hat) while outdoors.

Quotes:

Lt. Milan Delich: [putting his sleeping child down on a couch] I've gotta stop feeding that kid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Intimate Portrait: Pam Grier" (1999)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Know

Not bad, but somehow predictable

During this movie I had some fun to predict what will happen next. If you had watched (or read) many Thrillers with the Cold War as Topic it's quite easy. This movie is like a time travel back to 1980's. The music score was typical 80's as the photography of the action scenes. Not only the photography and the score were solid like all the actors. Gene Hackman was the leading cast next to Tommy Lee Jones, Dennis Franz, Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy. Gene Hackman is more or the less the same character as he was in many other thrillers. This time he is a good U.S. Sgt. who had some bad luck in his life but is still good enough to fight against all enemies of the U.S. Tommy Lee Jones is playing a villain and he always was great in such Roles. Hopefully he is doing more roles like that again in the future.

The suspenseful final wasn't without flaws but overall I enjoyed "The Package". Not the best Cold War Thriller but entertaining enough.