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In the Line of Fire poster

In the Line of Fire

year 1993decade 90sdirector Wolfgang Petersengenre Dramagenre Mysterygenre Thriller

128 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Clint Eastwood Frank Horrigan
John Malkovich Mitch Leary
Rene Russo Lilly Raines
Dylan McDermott Al D’Andrea
Gary Cole Bill Watts
Fred Dalton Thompson Harry Sargent
John Mahoney Sam Campagna
Gregory Alan-Williams Matt Wilder
Jim Curley President
Sally Hughes First lady
Clyde Kusatsu Jack Okura
Steve Hytner Tony Carducci
Tobin Bell Mendoza
Bob Schott Jimmy Hendrickson
Elsa Raven Booth’s landlady
Arthur Senzy Paramedic
Patrika Darbo Pam Magnus
Ryan Cutrona LAPD brass
Lawrence Lowe FBI technician
Brian Libby FBI supervisor
Eric Bruskotter Young agent
Patrick Caddell Political speaker
John Heard Professor Riger
Alan Toy Walter Wickland
Carl Ciarfalio CIA agent Collins
Robert Peters Hunter
Tyde Kierney Police captain Howard
Anthony Peck FBI official
Rick Hurst Bartender
Doris E. McMillon DC news anchor
Robert Sandoval Bellboy
Joshua Malina Agent Chavez
William G. Schilling Sanford Riggs
Michael Kirk Computer technician/Bates
Richard Camphuis Party fat cat
Robert Alan Beuth Man at bank
Susan Lee Hoffman Woman at bank
Donna Hamilton Reporter at Dulles
Bob Jimenez Reporter at hotel
Cylk Cozart Agent Cozart
Michael Zurich Agent Zurich
Rich DiDonato Undercover agent
Jeffrey Kurt Miller Undercover agent
Kirk Jordan Agent

In the Line of Fire | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Most Rewatchable Scene

Final phone call and rooftop chase

In the discussion (21)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:17Read transcript
  • The opening boat scene is praised, including Tobin Bell and McDermott with a bag over his head.
  • Whether Frank can identify an unloaded gun by weight is debated; a magician’s card-counting-by-weight demonstration makes the premise seem plausible.
  • Frank meeting Lily and trading chauvinist jokes is a scene candidate; her amused pushback is praised.
  • Frank’s introductory insults and overt flirting would be unacceptable in a modern workplace.
  • The second phone call’s Kennedy discussion is praised, especially Frank’s pause before conceding his critics may have been right.
  • The villain’s dismissive judgment of Kennedy’s favorite poem is enjoyed.
  • The bank visit is a scene candidate, especially the instant the invented Minneapolis high school exposes Mitch and he decides to kill the clerk.
  • The ice-cream walk and window-dressing argument are scene candidates, despite Frank’s objectionable manner.
  • Lily looking back as Frank hopes she will is a praised romantic beat.
  • Frank’s demographic joke and regretful address to Lincoln are enjoyed.
  • Frank’s bronchitis-related breakdown while protecting the president is a scene candidate.
  • The phone call framing the contest as offense versus defense is a scene candidate.
  • Frank’s encounter with the CIA and the description of Mitch as a wet boy are scene candidates.
  • Mitch killing the hunters with his homemade gun is a scene candidate.
  • The furious phone confrontation flowing into the chase is agreed as the most rewatchable scene.
  • Treating all the phone calls as a single scene is suggested as a possible cheat.
  • The rooftop pursuit is praised, while McDermott’s inability to keep up is mocked.
  • Mitch saving Frank and the reportedly improvised gun-in-mouth gesture are praised.
  • Frank identifying the assassin and the final gun confrontation are scene candidates.
  • The elevator climax is praised, especially breaking the light bulbs and using the walkie-talkie to direct Lily to aim high.
  • The last phone call followed by the chase is reaffirmed as the shared scene choice.

What’s Aged the Best?

Wall collage; too-old-for-this trope; Castle Rock; Washington; flawed cops; Secret Service cooperation; flirting; binoculars; assassination plan; disguises; archival footage; elevator; answering machine

In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:55Read transcript
  • The villain’s assassination wall collage is an aged-best choice; its apparent replacement by online conspiracy activity is debated.
  • The familiar too-old-for-this warning is praised as an effective action-movie device.
  • The 1990s Castle Rock run is praised.
  • 1990s Washington locations are praised.
  • The functional alcoholic cop with poor social skills is praised as a recognizable hero type.
  • The Secret Service’s reported first full cooperation with a film is praised, with irony noted that the story centers on its greatest failure.
  • Frank’s horny but self-aware flirtation with Lily is an aged-best choice.
  • Tiny assassin binoculars are an aged-best choice.
  • Mitch’s donation-based access plan is praised as carefully designed, while its lack of an escape plan is acknowledged.
  • The homemade gun is raised as both impressive and frightening; the woodshop dedication is joked about.
  • Mitch’s outfits, disguises and deliberate weight gain are praised.
  • Young Eastwood footage incorporated into Kennedy material is praised as convincing.
  • Frank’s quiet description of Dallas the night before the final assassination attempt is singled out as a strong scene.
  • The Bonaventure elevator is praised as an iconic movie location, compared with elevators in The Silence of the Lambs, Die Hard and Dressed to Kill.
  • The roommates’ theatrical outgoing answering-machine message is an aged-best choice, prompting memories of shared messages.
  • Assassins making unnecessary trips to other cities is an enjoyed trope.
  • Mitch’s Hunter S. Thompson-like travel disguise is praised.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Al D’Andrea

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:44Read transcript
  • McDermott’s Al is the weak-link choice, described as overwhelmed and unable to navigate or solve problems.
  • Al’s fearfulness and disastrous pursuit make his suitability for the Secret Service implausible.
  • The character is said to have damaged appreciation of McDermott, though being so memorably irritating could imply an effective performance; the characterization is still judged an unnecessary miss.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Tackling dummy better than Al; Russo the most entertaining 1990s actress

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:44Read transcript
  • The hot take asks whether a tackling dummy would be a better agent than Al.
  • Russo is proposed as the most entertaining actress of the 1990s, with nine rewatchable films offered in support.
  • Roberts’s competing filmography is considered, but Russo remains the preference.
  • The vehemence of the Russo preference is questioned as possibly an impression rather than a sincere take.
  • Bullock’s 1990s filmography is another challenge to the Russo claim, but Russo’s Thomas Crown Affair finish sustains the preference.
  • The Russo list names Lethal Weapon 3, Freejack, In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, Get Shorty, Tin Cup, Ransom, Lethal Weapon 4 and The Thomas Crown Affair; Major League is raised and excluded before the nine-film list.
  • The Roberts comparison names Pretty Woman, Flatliners, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Player, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Conspiracy Theory, Notting Hill and Runaway Bride; Erin Brockovich is explicitly placed in 2000. Pretty Woman’s year is corrected from1989to1990.
  • The Bullock comparison names Love Potion No.9, The Vanishing, The Thing Called Love, Demolition Man, Speed, While You Were Sleeping, The Net, A Time to Kill, Speed2, Practical Magic and Forces of Nature; it is an unranked filmography comparison.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Score (disputed); answering-machine ending; harassment; cockamamie; old photos; murders; hotel association; age-gap sex; small talk

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:47Read transcript
  • The score, especially the opening, is called cheesy; another view disagrees.
  • The crucial answering-machine message is considered dated, but ignoring the dead villain’s final statement is defended as a joke about his self-importance.
  • Frank’s sexual harassment is an aged-worst choice.
  • Cockamamie is considered dated even for 1993.
  • The altered old photos of Malkovich are criticized, unlike Eastwood’s convincing images.
  • The abrupt neck-breaking murders of Sally and Pam are judged insufficiently scary and physically implausible.
  • The ineffective German shepherd is mocked.
  • Malkovich reportedly wanted the dog killed too, but Petersen refused.
  • Staying at the Bonaventure is imagined as uncomfortable because of the movie’s murder association.
  • Eastwood’s age and the absence of Viagra in 1993 prompt jokes about the romance.
  • Al’s mundane family small talk is criticized as a pre-internet conversational habit; sports or modern podcast chatter are suggested alternatives.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Wheelchair gun expert (Professor Finley actor)

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:25Read transcript
  • Fred Thompson is described as a former that-guy who became recognizable by name.
  • Tobin Bell is another former that-guy.
  • Gary Cole is a former that-guy, though he still qualified in 1993.
  • John Mahoney is described as having graduated from that-guy status around Say Anything.
  • Brian Libby is a that-guy candidate, with Silent Rage and Shawshank roles recalled.
  • Joshua Malina is another former that-guy.
  • Clyde Kusatsu is a that-guy candidate among the investigators.
  • Steve Hytner is another investigator that-guy candidate.
  • Anthony Peck is another that-guy candidate, with his Die Hard with a Vengeance role recalled.
  • Kusatsu and the actor playing Seinfeld’s Kenny Banya are runners-up.
  • The wheelchair gun expert, recognized as Professor Finley from 90210, is the final that-guy choice; the actor’s name is not recalled.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Railsback

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:37Read transcript
  • The wheelchair gun expert is also a heat-check candidate.
  • The suspicious bank clerk is a heat-check candidate.
  • Fred Thompson is a heat-check candidate.
  • Tobin Bell is a heat-check candidate for a single scene.
  • The choice is transcribed Railsback; The Stunt Man and a Manson performance are recalled. No first name is supplied.
  • John Heard is praised but considered underused; more scenes with him are desired.

Apex Mountain

Bonaventure hotel; early 1990s adult thrillers

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:58Read transcript
  • Eastwood is rejected as an Apex choice.
  • Malkovich’s competing peaks are discussed; Being John Malkovich is preferred, with Rounders’s later growth and this film’s constant cable presence contributing context.
  • Russo is rejected here in favor of Tin Cup, while Two for the Money is recalled as a weaker role.
  • Tobin Bell is rejected as an Apex choice.
  • The rooftop chase is strongly praised, but a definitive Apex is left open to audience alternatives including Bourne, Skyfall and The Matrix.
  • Assassination movies are rejected here in favor of JFK.
  • Petersen’s peak is placed at Das Boot rather than this film.
  • The Bonaventure hotel is an unequivocal Apex choice.
  • The early 1990s adult-thriller era is affirmed as a peak, especially 1992–1994.
  • Washington as a movie location is rejected here in favor of All the President’s Men and the 1970s paranoid-thriller period.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Wooden gun; opera glasses; wheelchair

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:49Read transcript
  • The wooden gun is the principal memorabilia choice, despite personal reluctance to own it.
  • Mitch’s opera glasses are a memorabilia alternative.
  • The professor’s wheelchair is another memorabilia choice.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

No second chances with presidential safety; do not warn the Secret Service

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:09Read transcript
  • Do not give a second chance when presidential safety is at stake is one life lesson.
  • Do not repeatedly warn the Secret Service about a planned assassination is another life lesson.