Although its tale of cold warfare and secret police in East Berlin was soon overtaken by events, this is a very efficient thriller of its type. There's a plot to assassinate both the American president and the Soviet general secretary and only Gene Hackman can stop it. Yes, we've been here before, but scenes between high-up conspirators are mercifully sidelined in favour of the thriller aspects of the plot, its interlocking pieces falling nicely into place before the end. Dennis Franz, looking as though he's just nipped off the set of NYPD Blue, turns up as a Chicago policeman, Tommy Lee Jones is fine as the assassin, and director Andrew Davis keeps it moving to a predictable but briskly staged finale. Above all, it's Hackman's grit and integrity as an actor and a personality that keeps it marginally believable as well as exciting.

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