The retired US Navy pilot comes to Mexico, where he falls in love with the wife of a powerful businessman. The consequences will be cruel and unforeseen.
Director:
Tony Scott
Stars:
Kevin Costner,
Anthony Quinn,
Madeleine Stowe
Tom Farrell is a navy officer who gets posted at the Pentagon and is to report to the secretary of defense David Brice. He starts an affair with Susan Atwell not knowing that she is Brice's mistress. When Susan is found dead, Tom is assigned to the case of finding the killer who is believed to be a KGB mole! Tom could soon become a suspect when a Polaroid negative of him was found at Susan's place. He now has only a few hours to find the killer before the computer regenerates the photo.Written by
Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com>
The dialogue in the limo scene in which Tom asks the driver to raise the screen was improvised and initiated by Kevin Costner. As the other actors' reactions seemed more natural than the scripted version, it was kept in the final print. See more »
Goofs
When running away from the assassins, Tom slides down the handrail of an escalator, which gets dirt on the seat of his pants. As he turns to run further, the dirt has suddenly disappeared. See more »
Quotes
Susan Atwell:
[to man gawking at her cleavage]
If you want to look down my dress, you better grow a few inches.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening and closing credits pan over the city of Washington. See more »
SAY IT
Words & Music by Paul Anka and Richard Marx
Performed by Paul Anka
Courtesy of Paul Anka
Published by Paulanne Music, Inc. and Chiboy Music See more »
Kevin Costner stars in this stylish remake of THE BIG CLOCK, a 1948 film noir that starred Ray Milland and Charles Laughton. The setting has been changed from a publishing house to the Pentagon and the time period updated. Some extra plot twists have been added and it all adds up to riveting entertainment after a slow start.
Costner romances Sean Young after a brief flirtation and then discovers she is the mistress of the U.S. Secretary of Defense (Gene Hackman). In a fit of jealousy, Hackman accidentally kills Young and then must concoct a plot to keep his identity as her lover a secret. He assigns Costner to lead the investigation and this leads to a suspenseful turn of events that has Costner caught in a net from which he has a hard time escaping. A series of suspenseful chases take place with some excellent camerawork following the chase by car and on foot.
Only weakness here is the rather contrived ending which seems to have been added on for a final twist that is never quite convincing.
Kevin Costner, looking spiffy in his smart Navy white uniform, does an excellent job as a desperate man realizing he must keep his own affair with the victim a secret. Gene Hackman is excellent too but it is Will Patton as his loyal henchman and protector who gives the film's most penetrating performance, especially when his diabolical nature is revealed.
The first twenty-five minutes are much too slow in getting the story off the ground but once it does you'll want to stay tuned until the final denouement. One of the best thrillers produced in the '80s.
34 of 47 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Kevin Costner stars in this stylish remake of THE BIG CLOCK, a 1948 film noir that starred Ray Milland and Charles Laughton. The setting has been changed from a publishing house to the Pentagon and the time period updated. Some extra plot twists have been added and it all adds up to riveting entertainment after a slow start.
Costner romances Sean Young after a brief flirtation and then discovers she is the mistress of the U.S. Secretary of Defense (Gene Hackman). In a fit of jealousy, Hackman accidentally kills Young and then must concoct a plot to keep his identity as her lover a secret. He assigns Costner to lead the investigation and this leads to a suspenseful turn of events that has Costner caught in a net from which he has a hard time escaping. A series of suspenseful chases take place with some excellent camerawork following the chase by car and on foot.
Only weakness here is the rather contrived ending which seems to have been added on for a final twist that is never quite convincing.
Kevin Costner, looking spiffy in his smart Navy white uniform, does an excellent job as a desperate man realizing he must keep his own affair with the victim a secret. Gene Hackman is excellent too but it is Will Patton as his loyal henchman and protector who gives the film's most penetrating performance, especially when his diabolical nature is revealed.
The first twenty-five minutes are much too slow in getting the story off the ground but once it does you'll want to stay tuned until the final denouement. One of the best thrillers produced in the '80s.