“The Package” is a Cold War thriller that features a plot so labyrinthine and intriguingly deceptive that following the story becomes one of the movie’s biggest pleasures.
It may take a great deal of patience to get use to, though, since the first 20 minutes of the movie features a series a scenes that seem to have no relation with each other at all. We see a young man arrested by the Berlin police, an assassination of a high-ranking general after a peace gathering and our hero (Gene Hackman) being assigned to transport a Army major (Tommy Lee Jones), which ends up going horribly wrong.
All these elements unfold in such a seemingly disconnected manner that we start to wonder how these scenes connect with each other, or if they connect at all.
Then, suddenly, the pieces slowly but surely begin to fall into place, coming together in a climax that is surprising without ever feeling contrived or forced.
That’s because “The Package” is driven more by character motivations rather than action or cheap contrivances, and the characters here are so well-rounded that it’s much easier to buy into the plot.
Of course, there are some logical loopholes that you have to swallow, such as a couple of villains who seem to pop up during the most convenient moments and our hero escaping rather easily from a military base after being put on house arrest.
Yet, such loopholes are easy to swallow, thanks to Andrew Davis’ stylish and energetic direction and a number of commanding lead performances.
Because the movie relies so much on plot twists, writing a synopsis would be an exceedingly arduous task.
Gene Hackman stars as Lt. John Gallagher, who is assigned to transfer a prisoner (Jones) from Berlin to the States. After making a quick pit stop in the airport bathroom, Gallagher is rendered unconscious in an obviously staged brawl and loses his package.
When informing the prisoner’s wife of his escape, Gallagher finds out that the guy isn’t who he appeared to be, and so he enlists the help of his ex-wife (Joanna Cassidy), who is now a higher ranking officer than him.
That’s all I can tell you about the plot. Assuming you haven’t seen the movie, revealing any more details about the plot would ruin the experience.
Let it be said that “The Package” is a refreshing action movie that has both exciting action and an intelligent plot. Usually movies like this fall apart in the climax, but that isn’t the case here. Davis and screenwriter John Bishop keep the focus entirely on the characters, so that it never feels unmotivated.
And the movie is also carried by some pretty terrific performances. Hackman is as electrifying as ever, bringing lots of humanity to what could’ve been a typical tough guy role, while Jones is both charming and menacing as the mysterious title character. Cassidy, however, is solid but is not given much to do.
The best performance is unquestionably turned in by Dennis Franz, who plays a Chicago cop assisting Hackman and Cassidy in their investigation. It’s almost impossible not to smile every time he’s on screen.