SPOILERS.
The plot is rudimentary -- Russia is about to elect a corrupt government and Jurgen Prochnow, as Bukarin, knows where the bodies are hidden. (Actually in a box buried near some Communist statuary in Hungary, in a deserted field, huge and powerful iron icons of men like Lenin, representing Prochnow's idealism.) Prochnow of course is known to have this evidence by both sides, the Russian secret police and the CIA, and both sides want the information he's carrying. Assante and a handful of his friends are hired by a third party to smuggle Prochnow out of Kiev to freedom in the West. That's about it. The plot is a bit murky in its details. (A lot of people wear ski masks or disguises.) I lost track of who was on who's side, although it didn't matter much because neither side is "good".
So as a spy story it's a bit confusing at times. But as an action movie it is a relative success. There is only the briefest of car chases and no exploding fireballs in sight. Instead of everyone running around with an Uzi, sound-supressed pistols and rifles are used. And the sound effects are quite good. And if they are sometimes implausible they are uniformly well staged.
One can't help noticing that the performances too are quite good. Assante, as the heroic man of principle, is not glamorized. And Jurgen Prochnow gives a superbly understated performance as a kind and committed mensch. This is his best role since "Das Boot." He has a conversation in a falling-down church in which he more or less explains why he gave up the religion of his childhood and embraced politics instead. "Redemption," he asks rhetorically. "Can a man be redeemed if he has done nothing wrong?" Most of the dialogue is pedestrian and functional but it has its moments.
The location shooting in Budapest is evocative. This is a city in the midst of a continental winter with dreary skies and slick streets. It makes one long for a bowl of steaming goulash.
A superior action movie with a comment on the nature of the Cold War. You probably won't be bored by it.
The plot is rudimentary -- Russia is about to elect a corrupt government and Jurgen Prochnow, as Bukarin, knows where the bodies are hidden. (Actually in a box buried near some Communist statuary in Hungary, in a deserted field, huge and powerful iron icons of men like Lenin, representing Prochnow's idealism.) Prochnow of course is known to have this evidence by both sides, the Russian secret police and the CIA, and both sides want the information he's carrying. Assante and a handful of his friends are hired by a third party to smuggle Prochnow out of Kiev to freedom in the West. That's about it. The plot is a bit murky in its details. (A lot of people wear ski masks or disguises.) I lost track of who was on who's side, although it didn't matter much because neither side is "good".
So as a spy story it's a bit confusing at times. But as an action movie it is a relative success. There is only the briefest of car chases and no exploding fireballs in sight. Instead of everyone running around with an Uzi, sound-supressed pistols and rifles are used. And the sound effects are quite good. And if they are sometimes implausible they are uniformly well staged.
One can't help noticing that the performances too are quite good. Assante, as the heroic man of principle, is not glamorized. And Jurgen Prochnow gives a superbly understated performance as a kind and committed mensch. This is his best role since "Das Boot." He has a conversation in a falling-down church in which he more or less explains why he gave up the religion of his childhood and embraced politics instead. "Redemption," he asks rhetorically. "Can a man be redeemed if he has done nothing wrong?" Most of the dialogue is pedestrian and functional but it has its moments.
The location shooting in Budapest is evocative. This is a city in the midst of a continental winter with dreary skies and slick streets. It makes one long for a bowl of steaming goulash.
A superior action movie with a comment on the nature of the Cold War. You probably won't be bored by it.