"Under Fire" made me cry by taking me back to my childhood. I grew up in El Salvador during the start of its bloody civil war (1979-1992) that ended with over 50,000 Salvadorean's murdered and a sizable percentage of the population immigrating overseas, myself included. I had school buddies (two brothers) that were shot dead by death squads. My mother's fiancé, a lawyer, was gunned down the night before they publicly announced their engagement (R.I.P. Tony). If it wasn't for this civil war I wouldn't have left my homeland literally running away from bullets and RPG's, grabbing one of the last planes to leave during the offensive of Nov. '89. Time has made it clear I ended up having a better life here in the States than I would have had if I stayed (I wouldn't be on this website reviewing "UF" in English), which doesn't change the fact my mother died in 2017 (natural causes) having spent 28 years apart from me... many of those years much sooner than both of us anticipated or wanted. :'(
Anywho, despite being set during the fall of Nicaragua in 1979 the war atrocities depicted in "UF" spread over into nearby Central American countries and are almost identical to what we went through in E.S. See Oliver Stone's "Salvador" (1986) for the bloody detailed version. Despite following the dramatic structure of trying-to-be-objective international journalists observing an armed conflict with a detached perspective (as seen during last year's "Civil War" in the newest third-world nation on Earth, U.S.A. :-( ) director Roger Spottiswoode and co-screenwriter Ron Shelton make sure the local Nicaraguan citizens are properly represented and aren't just background window dressing (a rarity for this dramatic sub-genre). It's infrequent, but when war scenes happen they're intense but not as graphic as in "The Killing Fields." Gene Hackman's glorified supporting role is a meaty one, but Nick Nolte (playing against type as a weakling), Joanna Cassidy, Ed Harris and Holly Palance acquit themselves as international folks moved to their core by the plight of this particular group of brown people. 4 INEFFECTIVELY WAVED WHITE FLAGS (out of five).
Four years later another director named Roger (Donaldson) gave Hackman another meaty supporting role in his cold way/military thriller "No Way Out." I knew from pop culture parodies that Kevin Costner and Sean Young hooked-up in the back of a limo, and that Secretary of Defense Brice (Hackman, who starts strong before looking vulnerable) would use Costner's naval intelligence skills to lead a search for the unknown man that killed Susan Atwell (Young) as a cover for Brice's own crime. What I wasn't prepared for was Will Patton (as Brice's right-hand man) dominating every scene he shares with Gene, Kevin and every other acting heavyweight (George Dzundza, Fred Thompson, Howard Duff, Iman, etc.) like a boss. Seriously, if you haven't seen "NON" seek it just to see Patton walk away with a still-going-strong career. Did not see THAT ending coming, which on hindsight seems obvious but back in '87 was the Shyamalan 'what a twist!' of its day. Great movie. 4.5 SOUND-PROOF EMPTY PENTAGON GYMS (out of five).
'THE PACKAGE (1989, KINO BLU-RAY). Streaming on Netflix.
The first of director Andrew Davis' three collaborations with Tommy Lee Jones (and a dress-rehearsal for "The Fugitive" four years later, right down to the same Chicago locations/actors in slightly different roles), "The Package" finds TLJ as the on-the-run fugitive being chased by military man Gene Hackman (with ex-wife Joanna Cassidy tagging along) trying to prevent the former from an assassination attempt on either a bad George Bush-lookalike or an excellent Mikhail Gorbachev impersonator. :-P As in "NON" we're in military action/cold war thriller territory but with enough conspiracy theory fuel to give the shootouts/car chases a sense of paranoia/urgency. Dennis Franz's Chicago PD role (same year "Hill Street Blues" was cancelled) was a pleasant surprise. 4 COOKIES & MILK LAST MEALS (out of five).
R.I.P. GENE HACKMAN (1930-2025)
ReplyDeleteUNDER FIRE (1983, ROKU CHANNEL)
"Under Fire" made me cry by taking me back to my childhood. I grew up in El Salvador during the start of its bloody civil war (1979-1992) that ended with over 50,000 Salvadorean's murdered and a sizable percentage of the population immigrating overseas, myself included. I had school buddies (two brothers) that were shot dead by death squads. My mother's fiancé, a lawyer, was gunned down the night before they publicly announced their engagement (R.I.P. Tony). If it wasn't for this civil war I wouldn't have left my homeland literally running away from bullets and RPG's, grabbing one of the last planes to leave during the offensive of Nov. '89. Time has made it clear I ended up having a better life here in the States than I would have had if I stayed (I wouldn't be on this website reviewing "UF" in English), which doesn't change the fact my mother died in 2017 (natural causes) having spent 28 years apart from me... many of those years much sooner than both of us anticipated or wanted. :'(
Anywho, despite being set during the fall of Nicaragua in 1979 the war atrocities depicted in "UF" spread over into nearby Central American countries and are almost identical to what we went through in E.S. See Oliver Stone's "Salvador" (1986) for the bloody detailed version. Despite following the dramatic structure of trying-to-be-objective international journalists observing an armed conflict with a detached perspective (as seen during last year's "Civil War" in the newest third-world nation on Earth, U.S.A. :-( ) director Roger Spottiswoode and co-screenwriter Ron Shelton make sure the local Nicaraguan citizens are properly represented and aren't just background window dressing (a rarity for this dramatic sub-genre). It's infrequent, but when war scenes happen they're intense but not as graphic as in "The Killing Fields." Gene Hackman's glorified supporting role is a meaty one, but Nick Nolte (playing against type as a weakling), Joanna Cassidy, Ed Harris and Holly Palance acquit themselves as international folks moved to their core by the plight of this particular group of brown people. 4 INEFFECTIVELY WAVED WHITE FLAGS (out of five).
NO WAY OUT (1987, KINO 4K UHD)
ReplyDeleteFour years later another director named Roger (Donaldson) gave Hackman another meaty supporting role in his cold way/military thriller "No Way Out." I knew from pop culture parodies that Kevin Costner and Sean Young hooked-up in the back of a limo, and that Secretary of Defense Brice (Hackman, who starts strong before looking vulnerable) would use Costner's naval intelligence skills to lead a search for the unknown man that killed Susan Atwell (Young) as a cover for Brice's own crime. What I wasn't prepared for was Will Patton (as Brice's right-hand man) dominating every scene he shares with Gene, Kevin and every other acting heavyweight (George Dzundza, Fred Thompson, Howard Duff, Iman, etc.) like a boss. Seriously, if you haven't seen "NON" seek it just to see Patton walk away with a still-going-strong career. Did not see THAT ending coming, which on hindsight seems obvious but back in '87 was the Shyamalan 'what a twist!' of its day. Great movie. 4.5 SOUND-PROOF EMPTY PENTAGON GYMS (out of five).
'THE PACKAGE (1989, KINO BLU-RAY). Streaming on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteThe first of director Andrew Davis' three collaborations with Tommy Lee Jones (and a dress-rehearsal for "The Fugitive" four years later, right down to the same Chicago locations/actors in slightly different roles), "The Package" finds TLJ as the on-the-run fugitive being chased by military man Gene Hackman (with ex-wife Joanna Cassidy tagging along) trying to prevent the former from an assassination attempt on either a bad George Bush-lookalike or an excellent Mikhail Gorbachev impersonator. :-P As in "NON" we're in military action/cold war thriller territory but with enough conspiracy theory fuel to give the shootouts/car chases a sense of paranoia/urgency. Dennis Franz's Chicago PD role (same year "Hill Street Blues" was cancelled) was a pleasant surprise. 4 COOKIES & MILK LAST MEALS (out of five).