This is the type of film that Hollywood was producing tons of in the mid 1960's, so by 1988, it seemed "old hat". But, if you are going to give it a sort of "brat pack" touch, then this is an acceptable variation of the familiar story. River Phoenix, really hot in 1988, was the Leonardo di Caprio of his time, and he is well cast as a really nice teen who wants to go into the Air Force Academy. Little does he realize that his parents have a secret, and this is where Sidney Poitier comes in. Poitier is a FBI agent who has been trying to find Scuba, the man who killed his partner years ago, and now, he learns that the killer is blackmailing the KGB into paying him off or he will kill the remainder of the Russian spies they sent over during the cold war. Guess who two of those spies are. Poor River Phoenix has his whole world turned upside down when the truth comes out, and its up to Poitier to prevent him and his family from becoming Scuba's next target.
News shots of former movie star Ronald Reagen making peace with the Russian government are briefly seen which sort of the dates the purpose of having even made this movie since the cold war was obviously long over. But it is still presented in an interesting light and is generally entertaining. This is what we referred to in 1988 as a "popcorn movie", something we went to see strictly for entertainment and forgot about by the next day. I will say that the finale is pretty exciting, though, set on the tram that goes from San Diego to the Mexican border. The much missed River Phoenix was a fine young actor whom we lost too early. Along with the excellent nature-battling thriller "Shoot to Kill", this film marked Sidney Poitier's return to acting after a decade, and he is more than welcomed back. The lovely Loretta Devine has a nice small role as the big-hearted guidance counselor Poitier becomes involved with. Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are fine as DiCaprio's parents, while Richard Lynch and Richard Bradford are nefariously interesting as the Russians.
News shots of former movie star Ronald Reagen making peace with the Russian government are briefly seen which sort of the dates the purpose of having even made this movie since the cold war was obviously long over. But it is still presented in an interesting light and is generally entertaining. This is what we referred to in 1988 as a "popcorn movie", something we went to see strictly for entertainment and forgot about by the next day. I will say that the finale is pretty exciting, though, set on the tram that goes from San Diego to the Mexican border. The much missed River Phoenix was a fine young actor whom we lost too early. Along with the excellent nature-battling thriller "Shoot to Kill", this film marked Sidney Poitier's return to acting after a decade, and he is more than welcomed back. The lovely Loretta Devine has a nice small role as the big-hearted guidance counselor Poitier becomes involved with. Richard Jenkins and Caroline Kava are fine as DiCaprio's parents, while Richard Lynch and Richard Bradford are nefariously interesting as the Russians.