Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy and Tommy Lee Jones headline another Andrew Davis chase movie that counts among its cast, Pam Grier, Kevin Heard, and Dennis Franz. It’s a fairly well-crafted military thriller that seems to have the recurring themes of chases, Chicago and conspiracies running through it.

This time out, Gene Hackman plays Master Sergeant Johnny Gallagher. He’s on assignment in East Berlin (back before the wall came down), and the East and West governments are working on a nuclear disarmament treaty, one that could herald a new era of peace.

Unfortunately, when there’s an attack on the grounds, Gallagher is held responsible, and is given immediate reassignment. He’s to escort a prisoner, Thomas Boyette (Jones) back to the States to stand for courtmartial.

But it’s all a ploy to get Boyette (traveling under a different name) back into the country as part of a black ops plan to possibly push the powers that be into a third world war. Boyette eludes Gallagher once they set foot State-side, and Gallagher finds himself on the run for murder, and more.

Where does he turn? His ex-wife, Colonel Eileen Gallagher (Cassidy), her aide, Ruth Butler (Grier) and his old Vietnam comrade-turned-cop, Delich (Franz).

It’s an entertaining and fast-paced tale. Once again, Davis uses the city of Chicago as his backdrop, and Hackman is perfect as the biting, skilled soldier who has been wronged, and is determined to set things right, no matter the cost. He’s also determined to draw the conspiracy out into the light.

Hackman is a delight, and he and Jones are electric on-screen together, but they don’t share enough of it.

Davis keeps the story moving, interspersing chases with politics and mystery as the Gallaghers attempt to hunt down Boyette and figure out what his endgame is, and who is running him.

With a solid score by James Newton Howard, the story is engaging, if familiar. I remember seeing the videocassette for this back in the day when it first came out and hit shelves. It didn’t look appealing to me then, but I had been raised on blockbusters and was only starting to expand my cinema knowledge.

Watching it now, it’s fun to see Hackman and Jones play. Not to mention a nice appearance by Cassidy and Grier. And while Davis seems to constantly go back to the well in terms of chase/conspiracy films, finally perfecting it with The Futgitive, this one works very well.

And it just goes to show the viewer that Hackman could play any kind of role he put his mind to. But damn, I would have loved to see him and Jones do another film together.

You’ve seen this kind of film before, but the performances make it worth the exploration.