Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
GUENOT PHILIPPE
I am surprised that no one has noticed that this film may have inspired 24 series, that's my own opinion at least. I appreciated this TV movie, very well paced but unfortunately too much foreesable, predictable. Good job anyway, no problem.
JoeB131
Okay, who knew Nixon was going to turn out to be a crook, besides anyone who watched his career.Actually this isn't bad for an early 70's made for TV movie. Personally, I've always wondered why 1970's TV was so fond of brown cars and dull colors. It seems in the 1960's, they discovered color was this new thing and were very flamboyant about it, but in the 1970's, they went with "earth tones" and got bored wit the thing.The plot is that an eccentric millionaire steals some Army Nerve gas, so potent they have to store it in binary form. Realizing a clever FBI agent is on to him, he sets up a series of contingencies to make sure his weapon goes off in San Diego when Richard Nixon (never specifically mentioned but obviously implied) is making his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.The battle of wits between these two guys is very interesting, and this is before Hollywood learned how to milk such scenarios for every ounce of suspense.
JACK SOUTH (JSouth1)
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I had been waiting to see this movie since i saw most of it 3 years ago while on vacation in myrtle beach, s.c.Was it EVER worth the wait!The subject of chemical weapons terrorism could be taken out of todays headlines. Perhaps that is why no network im my area has shown it. I was lucky enough to come across a used copy on e bay. I can't stop watching it!!Michael crichton's influnce is obvious here, with a plot that begins quickly, and builds to an unexpected twist in the climax. Though some of the early digital technology shows it age,(the control unit with lots of blinking lights and switches, as is the case with most early computer technology in the movies), this does not diminish from the suspense that this movie carries. An on screen digital countdown appears frequently, further alerting the viewer that SOMETHING BIG IS COMING.The cat and mouse action between ben gazzara and e.g. marshall is very intriguing. Every time gazzara thinks he is one step ahead, marshall surprises him.Near the end of the movie, marshall is caught and the nerve gas bomb is disarmed. ,or so it appears. Just when it seems that the good guys have won, crichton throws in one more twist. It is a race aginst time for a federal agent to find a hidden bomb that is a fail-safe, designed to release the gas onto san diego if the primary system is defeated.A heart-stopping sequence occurs when the agent has to race down many flights of stairs to get a bomb-sniffer, and then back up again ,because the elevators in the apartment building where the gas is at have been disabled. Of course ,the agent is able to save the day in the end.As I write this on september 10, we here in the U.S. are at orange alert as a result of terroristic threats.This movie was made 30 years ago, but with its plot of chemical terrorism ,it could have been made yesterday.If you like techno/political thrillers, and can find a copy of this movie, it is well worth your time.I rate this movie at a 9 out of 10!!!!!
Captain Kronos
One of my local UHF channels showed this movie on a Saturday afternoon. Overall, it is very well done, especially for a made-for-TV movie. The movie moved along at a good pace and the acting was good all around. It is a little reminiscent of the early episodes of "Columbo". Ben Gazzara is pursuing E.G. Marshall, who he knows is planning to do something at a Democratic national convention in San Diego. The two repeatedly try to outwit each other, all the while knowing that the other guy is watching every move. This makes for some interesting plot twists and blind alleys. Crichton, as usual, pays very close attention to technological details, making the premise very realistic, unlike a lot of "caper" movies where plot hinges on an essential piece of knowledge the character could not possibly have had. I'm really surprised this hasn't been remade for the big screen, given Michael Crichton's popularity.
