Another fairly dreary thriller from Clint Eastwood based on a best-seller. As a broken down reporter hoping to redeem himself by saving an innocent man from death row, Eastwood might have been able to make something out of his role, but his insistence, at age 68, to play a ladies man, one who is even seen shirtless, sabotages the effort, as does his decision to play Steve Everett (which sounds like the name of a character Elvis would have played in one of his race car movies) as a chain smoker. Like Dustin Hoffman in "Straw Dogs" and Kevin Costner in "The Untouchables," just the way he holds the cigarette convinces a smoker like myself that health nut Clint is a pretender to the nicotine habit.
Still, unlike "Absolute Power," his previous starring vehicle, "True Crime" manages to work up a fair amount of suspense as Eastwood races against the clock to save a man's life and to save his own career. There's also a fine cast. Unlike his potboilers of the 70s and 80s in which the supporting roles were usually filled by good actors whose careers had nonetheless seen better days, here, as in most of his films from the 90s, Eastwood is surrounded by other "name" actors, including James Woods and Dennis Leary, both of whom have enough intensity to keep Eastwood awake.
Still, unlike "Absolute Power," his previous starring vehicle, "True Crime" manages to work up a fair amount of suspense as Eastwood races against the clock to save a man's life and to save his own career. There's also a fine cast. Unlike his potboilers of the 70s and 80s in which the supporting roles were usually filled by good actors whose careers had nonetheless seen better days, here, as in most of his films from the 90s, Eastwood is surrounded by other "name" actors, including James Woods and Dennis Leary, both of whom have enough intensity to keep Eastwood awake.