For reasons not really explained Gayle Hunnicutt decides to go to Europe on her own, leaving husband and son somewhat at sea. But when Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon get a call from the French Consulate that Hunnicutt has gone missing from her tour group.

Hackman is a middle class conservative person who is rather staid and boring. Among those who see him that way is his son. But Dillon gets the shock of his young life when he finds out that Hackman was in the CIA and that he has been living like he was in witness protection program.

And Hackman hasn't slowed up a bit. He still has the moves and the instincts. But the puzzle is that they're seem to be two groups, one who has the wife and one who wants to kill him. A puzzlement.

Hackman, Hunnicutt, and Dillon cast as a good family unit. They are given good support by the rest of the cast. I think you will figure out early on who is the bad guy.

Nice location cinematography in France and Germany. Pace of the film is also good. You will like it.

This thriller sees former spy Gene Hackman running around Paris, meeting various contacts and battling a rather nasty enemy in the form of a man with glasses who doesn't think twice about bumping off those who stand in his way. This has some fairly tense and exciting moments but it's let down by a plodding running time and, towards the end of the film, in the last half an hour, nothing really happens. The plot falls apart and the sense of pacing which filled the first half of the film evaporates, instead boredom sets in.

Hackman is as good as he ever was, a real tough guy and charismatic too. Matt Dillon is well cast as his unlikely son who finds himself caught up in all sorts of espionage and intrigue. The rest of the people are minor characters who are quite forgettable, especially the villains who get far too little screen time and aren't really that threatening anyway. There are a couple of good car chases, explosions and some nice action bits but overall this film is a missed opportunity - for a good Paris-based thriller try either THE FRENCH CONNECTION II or RONIN, which do tend to make better use of scenery and help to emphasise Paris' claustrophobic architecture.

Walter Lloyd (Gene Hackman) runs a Dallas lumber company. His son Chris (Matt Dillon) repairs stock cars and doesn't get along with him. His wife Donna travels to Paris but she goes missing. Father and son go off to look for her. Soon the stodgy businessman Walter turns into a man of action without Chris' knowledge. Walter is approached by two gun men with Donna's jewelry but he turns the table on them. He used to work for the CIA and reconnects with an old college Barney Taber (Josef Sommer). Chris saves his father from another gun attack and he finally comes clean to his son.

Matt Dillon is overplaying the bratty know-it-all rebellious teenager role. He overplays everything by a little like when he is first told. Hackman is more of the lead and he's very solid. It's a worthwhile watch for Hackman fans. It goes to lesser seen location like Germany. It's a competent spy action thriller but Matt Dillon's character keeps annoying me with his arrogant ignorance. He's being shot at, his father is a secret spy, his mother is kidnapped and he's still chasing tail.