A cop (Richard Dreyfuss) on a surveillance job falls in love with the woman (Madeleine Stowe) he is spying on while he and his partner (Emilio Estevez) are waiting to see if her escaped convict boyfriend (Aidan Quinn) is going to appear.

The plot for this film is both improbable and unoriginal - but that doesn't stop StakeOut being a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

This is principally thanks to Dreyfuss and Estevez's amusing performances as the two cops on surveillance and some sharp, witty dialogue, as well as John Badham's vitality-plus handling.

Dreyfuss and Estevez make such a good double act, you're left hoping they'll make more films together.

Alas for such hopes: they did, and the sequel was nowhere near as good as this. Stowe and Quinn are good value too.