Genre: Suspense thriller
Director: John Badham
Plot: An accountant who has just arrived in Los Angeles is forced by two people to kill the Governor or they will kill his daughter.
The gist: I remember this film when it first came out at the theatres back in 1995. The film's main selling point was the whole thing taking place in real time. But truth be told, now that I've seen it again, that fact isn't so significant anymore.
What is significant is watching Johnny Depp, way before he became the star he is now, play an everyman forced into a tough situation. It's a far cry from being Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter or Willy Wonka, but he pulls it off nicely. He shares great rapport with Christopher Walken, who is always reliable as a villain. Walken pretty much plays it the way he usually does, but it never gets old.
Overall the suspense isn't edge of your seat stuff, but the film makes up for it with solid performances from the cast.
The good: Depp and Walken shine here, and so does Charles S. Dutton as a shoe shine man who becomes Depp's only ally. Roma Maffia also deserves mention as Walken's accomplice, though she hasn't got much to do here.
The bad: The movie's main flaw is logic. I recall this question being asked back then: why didn't these guys do the assassination themselves instead of forcing a stranger to pull the trigger? It probably would have been easier this way. Another stretch of logic is watching Depp trying all sorts of ways to get help, only to be foiled by Walken again and again. It's noted that Walken is always about a stone's throw away from Depp when this happens, but it seems like he has ESP or something, because his timing is always perfect. And what's with the "fool the audience" fantasy sequence? I didn't buy it when it happened, and I don't think anyone would have. It was just weird.
Verdict: It's a decent thriller. It's watchable thanks to the cast's fine performances, but the logic of the whole plot needs some fine tuning. (3/5)
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