In the Line of Fire

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In the Line of Fire

R

Released Jul 9, 1993

2h 8m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A Secret Service agent is taunted by calls from a would-be killer who has detailed information about the agent - including the fact that he failed to save President John F. Kennedy from assassination. The caller is revealed as an ex-CIA assassin, and the agent, who is investigating a threat to the current president, is determined not to let history repeat itself.

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Critics Consensus

A straightforward thriller of the highest order, In the Line of Fire benefits from Wolfgang Peterson's taut direction and charismatic performances from Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Generously exciting, In the Line of Fire is mercifully free of that artificial energy that makes so many new movies look as if they were created with steroids.

Jan 29, 2019

Full Review

Clifford Terry

Chicago Tribune

Petersen directs his film in a straightforward, workmanlike fashion-few surprises here -- and, curiously, for most of the film is better at establishing a kind of amiability than a hard tension.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 30, 2013

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Director Wolfgang Petersen moves the story along, but his real job is to simply stay out of the way of his two racehorse lead actors. And he does.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 30, 2013

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

A generally smart, adult thriller.

Rated: B

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

The classic 90s political thriller, complete with an air-tight script for 2+ hours, some great performances and a steady hand from Wolfgang Petersen.

Jun 25, 2022

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Quentin Crisp

Christopher Street

This is a picture which I would simply hate to have missed. It is a totally conventional film, but is none the worse for that. A good movie is a series of gloriously foregone conclusions, and Fire is no exception.

Apr 6, 2022

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Garry A

This is one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films. The cat and mouse game is captivating. Sometimes a straightforward thriller is better than one full of twists and turns.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

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Lee B

One of the best thrillers of the 90s, along with The Firm. Anyone who doesn't give this a high rating is just objectively wrong

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

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Audience Member

I thought the plot and script were very 1990s. I am not sure this movie has aged well. At times the action scenes and dialog progressed nicely, however, I did not feel there was a lot of chemistry between Russo (Raines) and Eastwood (Horrigan). Malkovich (Leary) held this film together. The ending was good. Overall, this was a decent film for its time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

Full Review

Sebastian L

There's something to be said about the craftmanship in Hollywood during the '80s and early '90s. What might have seemed as your meat and potatoes during the time have aged into excellent examples of quality filmmaking. In the Line of Fire is exactly that. Well-written with carved out characters (albeit slightly shallow ones), Petersen lands this project without so much as a flesh wound.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

Full Review

Jonathan O

A heart stomping suspense thriller ever is really entertaining and really intense and Clint Eastwood performance is outstanding and John Malkovich performance is absolutely terrifying and disturbing villain and really great writing which is loosely based on the real secret service who protects JFK.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

James B

a great thriller john malchovich and clint eastwood are great rean russo is good too a great thriller worth watching a classic

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/29/24

Full Review

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Wolfgang Petersen

Director

Clint Eastwood

Frank Horrigan

John Malkovich

Mitch Leary

Rene Russo

Lilly Raines

Dylan McDermott

Al D'Andrea

Gary Cole

Bill Watts

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - Fatal Fall

1:40

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - Blocking the Bullet

2:13

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - Are You Going to Shoot Me, Frank?

2:13

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - Rendezvous With My Ass

2:00

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - If Only I Reacted

2:06

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - Aim High

1:49

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - The Irony's So Thick

1:50

In the Line of Fire: Official Clip - You're Under Arrest, Too

2:12

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In the Line of Fire: Trailer 1

1:22

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Synopsis

A Secret Service agent is taunted by calls from a would-be killer who has detailed information about the agent - including the fact that he failed to save President John F. Kennedy from assassination. The caller is revealed as an ex-CIA assassin, and the agent, who is investigating a threat to the current president, is determined not to let history repeat itself.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Producer: Jeff Apple
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 9, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $102.2M
Runtime: 2h 8m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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