Product Description

In TARGET, Chris Lloyd (Dillon) does NOT get along with his father Walter. Walter is too careful, cautious, and boring to Chris, and never tries anything new, and Chris had to live by the same standards when he was growing up. But when his mother is kidnapped while in Europe, to Chris's confusion, Walter suddenly turns into a man of action and springs to life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34002 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2005-06-14
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.com
Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon play a typical (if unlikely) father and son, at odds over the usual generational stuff. Then Gayle Hunnicutt, as the wife and mother, disappears--and suddenly Sonny Boy discovers something he never knew about stuffy old Dad: that he's actually a retired government agent who's pretty handy with a gun and more than willing to waste whoever gets in his way as he tries to get his wife back alive. They bounce around Europe in pursuit, with the kid getting in Dad's way, in a plot that winds up chasing its own tail. Hackman and director Arthur Penn were much more effective a decade earlier when they made Night Moves. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Target - Gene Hackman, Matt Dillon
Overall a good film with just enough action and intrigue to keep you interested. Good points: gives those of us who fought in the "Cold War" a look back at the days of the Berlin Wall, East Germany, and the cat and mouse games where no one could be trusted. Bad points: the ending seems disjointed, rushed, and leaves more questions than answers.

One of my favorite movies
Ever since this movie came out, it has been one of my favorites. I watch it once a year or so, and enjoy it each time. This is an action/suspense movie with spy elements as well. The balance between action and suspense scenes is just right and the interaction between the father (Gene Hackman) and son (Matt Dillon) is very entertaining along the way - the son finds out the father isn't such an old fuddy-duddy after all!

The movie does start out pretty slowly, but the beginning does a good job of introducing the main characters and sets up the tense yet humorous relationship between father and son.

The plot of the movie is very good except that the ending, while being exciting and suspenseful, is a bit contrived (a little suspension of disbelief is needed here). The acting, with the exception of a couple minor characters, is also top-notch. The characters are believable and seem natural.

Finally, I'd just like to mention that this movie has a couple of great car chases that are a blast to watch, and seem plausible, unlike some movies where the chase scenes are totally unrealistic. Plus the fact that they are in Europe, with European vehicles makes them feel different than the standard fare.

The DVD itself has no special features, but the price is right. The video and audio quality are good (typical 80's movie quality), and are better than my laserdisc copy and much better than my old VHS copy. However, they did leave in the film change markers; so you have been warned if that bothers you.

fun flick
gene hackman and josef sommer are pros and bring the other amateurs along for the ride in fine style. almost campy, but suspenseful and entertaining at the same time. The theme of "dad is a boring twit, oops, he is speaks three languages, kicks [...], and handles a gun and a car like a CIA grandmaster", is terrific ego boost for old fathers. I only logged on to buy a dvd copy. unbelievable that it is not released in that format.