In the Line of Fire

Between his directorial duties on A Perfect World and The Bridges of Madison County, Clint Eastwood starred in this pulse-racing 1993 thriller. In the Line of Fire was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the brilliant director of the World War II U-boat masterpiece Das Boot. Eastwood gives one of his best performances as Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, who still feels responsible for the death of JFK 30 years earlier. Horrigan gets a shot at redemption when challenged by a psychotic but highly intelligent assassin (John Malkovich) who intends to kill the current U.S. president. Tension builds as this intellectual cat-and-mouse game reaches its climactic confrontation, but not before we've seen the killer at work, covering his trail with ruthless precision. Tightly scripted by Jeff Maguire, the film cuts Malkovich loose as one of the most memorable screen villains of the 1990s, and costars Rene Russo as Eastwood's sharp Secret Service colleague and romantic partner. --Jeff Shannon