Bland Eastwood vehicle finds big Clint undercover at a Russian airforce facility where he plans to steal the top secret fighter jet superior to anything else in operation and capable of immense destruction in the wrong hands. Aided by avionics scientists forcibly recruited to work on the project (Hawthorne, Lacey, Arliss in particular), Eastwood manages to stage a daring theft and is then pursued by the Russians desperate to destroy the invention before its secrets can be revealed to the allies.
Eastwood's attempt at a cold war espionage flick doesn't contain enough narrative content to remain cogent - in point of fact, a good half an hour is spent with Clint going super-sonic speed in the sky, while the Russians bumble about chasing red herrings and ruminating on the impact of their loss. Why Eastwood's character would be portrayed as an unbalanced Vietnam veteran who suffers from flashbacks is a major credibility issue when you consider he's been headhunted for this politically sensitive mission. But plot holes aside, the aerial acrobatics aren't bad, particularly his dogfight with the Russian's top flight commander in the film's long awaited climax.
Hawthorne takes leave from his Sir Humphrey Appleby persona to play a political prisoner essentially enslaved to build the diabolical weapon, while Colley is starch-straight as a stereotypical Russian uniform. David Huffman also has a primary role in one of his last films before he was tragically murdered. But interesting cast aside, the script is tired and clichéd and Eastwood's direction lacks his usual lustre. Overlong and underwhelming.
Eastwood's attempt at a cold war espionage flick doesn't contain enough narrative content to remain cogent - in point of fact, a good half an hour is spent with Clint going super-sonic speed in the sky, while the Russians bumble about chasing red herrings and ruminating on the impact of their loss. Why Eastwood's character would be portrayed as an unbalanced Vietnam veteran who suffers from flashbacks is a major credibility issue when you consider he's been headhunted for this politically sensitive mission. But plot holes aside, the aerial acrobatics aren't bad, particularly his dogfight with the Russian's top flight commander in the film's long awaited climax.
Hawthorne takes leave from his Sir Humphrey Appleby persona to play a political prisoner essentially enslaved to build the diabolical weapon, while Colley is starch-straight as a stereotypical Russian uniform. David Huffman also has a primary role in one of his last films before he was tragically murdered. But interesting cast aside, the script is tired and clichéd and Eastwood's direction lacks his usual lustre. Overlong and underwhelming.