Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is a retired assassin who now lives a quiet life as an art history professor (oh sure that's convincing...). His past catches up with him when he's forced to return to his former employer under threats of reporting his priceless art collection to the IRS. Hemlock is assigned to infiltrate a group of climbers attempting to ascend the treacherous Eiger in the Swiss Alps. One of the climbers, we don't know who, is a Soviet agent that Hemlock must eliminate.
The film's most striking feature is its cinematography. The climbing sequence are all on location at Eiger mountain, Monument Valley and Zion National Park. The climbing is particularly amazing, and the highlight of the film. Watching, I often wondered where the camera could possibly be. In fact one mountaineer on the crew was killed during production at Eiger by falling rocks, something that also occurs in the film.
Eastwood's portrayal of a seasoned mountaineer is convincing and impressive. He insisted on having no stunt double and, having no significant climbing experience, had to train extensively for the role. The portion of the film portraying Hemlock training for Eiger includes footage that is actually Eastwood training in Utah prior to filming in Switzerland.
The plot is a bit convoluted at times. But it's entertaining to watch Hemlock navigate the dangerous world of international espionage, as Eastwood navigates this sort of American James Bond, complete with an extra helping of sexism and bigotry. There's a comically Hollywood insight joke, when meeting a sexy native American women, Eastwood mumbles "Fuck Marlon Brando".
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