As this film opens we see elderly FBI profiler Terry McCaleb giving chase to a man he believes to be a serial killer known as the 'Code Murderer'. He collapses with a heart attack but still manages to put a bullet in the fleeing man. Two years later and he is retired and recovering from a heart transplant. He is approached by a woman who tells him that his heart came from her murdered sister... she wants him to find the man who killed her. McCaleb agrees to make some inquiries. The police believe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when a convenience store was robbed; after looking at the evidence he isn't so sure and thinks her murder may be linked to another murder. As his condition means he can't drive he gets his neighbour, Buddy, to drive him to the various people he needs to question. His inquiry soon irritates the officers who'd investigated the case for the LAPD, a friend who works for LA County Police, is more helpful.
This Clint Eastwood film may not be up there with 'Dirty Harry' it is at least as good as the later instalments in that series of films. One might think Eastwood is far too old to be playing the lead investigator in a mystery but having the character recovering from a heart transplant justifies a slower pace... it also serves perfectly to motivate McCaleb to take this particular case. The story plays out well with various suspects coming into view before the killer's identity is revealed. The clues are there for the viewer to identify the killer before it is revealed but they aren't too obvious. The cast does a fine job with Clint Eastwood being solid as McCaleb and Jeff Daniels is fun as Buddy; there are also notable performances from Wanda De Jesús, Tina Lifford and Anjelica Huston. There are some flaws, things get a bit messy towards the end as McCaleb confronts the killer in a somewhat silly finale... this wasn't enough to spoil my enjoyment of the film though. I'd recommend it to fans of the genre.
This Clint Eastwood film may not be up there with 'Dirty Harry' it is at least as good as the later instalments in that series of films. One might think Eastwood is far too old to be playing the lead investigator in a mystery but having the character recovering from a heart transplant justifies a slower pace... it also serves perfectly to motivate McCaleb to take this particular case. The story plays out well with various suspects coming into view before the killer's identity is revealed. The clues are there for the viewer to identify the killer before it is revealed but they aren't too obvious. The cast does a fine job with Clint Eastwood being solid as McCaleb and Jeff Daniels is fun as Buddy; there are also notable performances from Wanda De Jesús, Tina Lifford and Anjelica Huston. There are some flaws, things get a bit messy towards the end as McCaleb confronts the killer in a somewhat silly finale... this wasn't enough to spoil my enjoyment of the film though. I'd recommend it to fans of the genre.