Two professional assassins are sent to kidnap a 9 year old boy named Travis Knight (Harley Cross), who is under the United States Federal Witness Protection Program after witnessing a mob killing in Texas. Cohen (Roy Scheider) is the older, jaded assassin with a little bit of humanity still in him. Tate (Adam Baldwin) is the younger, hotheaded and psychopathic killer.
The film is a cinematic version of O. Henry's short story "The Ransom of Red Chief", which partially influenced both "Ruthless People" and "The Ref". The version here is significantly different than the original (as it involves no ransom and is much more violent) but has the general underlying concept intact.
Is it time for this film to be re-examined and re-evaluated as a lost 1980s action classic? Perhaps. While Harley Cross is a bit annoying (especially that accent) and Adam Baldwin pushes his role too far... this is still a fine piece of entertainment.
The film is a cinematic version of O. Henry's short story "The Ransom of Red Chief", which partially influenced both "Ruthless People" and "The Ref". The version here is significantly different than the original (as it involves no ransom and is much more violent) but has the general underlying concept intact.
Is it time for this film to be re-examined and re-evaluated as a lost 1980s action classic? Perhaps. While Harley Cross is a bit annoying (especially that accent) and Adam Baldwin pushes his role too far... this is still a fine piece of entertainment.