Target (1985)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Spy Father's Glory

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Target on DVD.

The great director Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde, Night Moves) teamed with Gene Hackman for the third and final time in this mid-1980s thriller. Hackman stars as Walter Lloyd, a humble lumberyard manager. His detached, distant son Chris (Matt Dillon) thinks he's boring. But when Walter's wife gets kidnapped while vacationing in Europe, Chris quickly discovers that his dad is really a retired CIA spy. It's not a bad idea, but writers Howard Berk and Don Petersen barely hold it together; they're not sure how soon and how much of Walter's secret to reveal and just what Chris's reaction should be. As a result, Dillon often comes across as petulant and whiny. Penn does the best he can, getting great little moments here and there from both Hackman and Dillon and turning in some superb action sequences, much cleaner and more exciting than anything we see today. He handles the climactic rescue sequence with a sure, delicate touch, setting the scene in a large, dark warehouse with no music. But the rest of the plot creaks along and nothing Penn does can align it. This was the beginning of the end for Penn, who in the 20 years since, has only completed four other films, none of which have been worthy of any attention.

DVD Details: Paramount has released this film on a new DVD in 2005. It's letterboxed with a 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack, an optional French language track and optional English subtitles, but features no extras.