The Package (1989 film)

The Package is a 1989 American political thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy and Tommy Lee Jones. Set during the Cold War, the film portrays an assassination conspiracy within both the U.S. and Soviet militaries. The Americans and Soviets are about to sign a disarmament treaty to completely eliminate nuclear weapons, but elements within each country's military are vehemently opposed to such a plan and determined to stop it at all costs. Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, calling it "smarter than most thrillers".

Plot
Gene Hackman stars as Johnny Gallagher, a Special Forces Master Sergeant in the United States Army who is assigned to escort a prisoner, an Army deserter named Thomas Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones), from West Berlin back to the United States. When Boyette escapes, Gallagher pursues him and discovers that Boyette is actually a professional assassin hired to kill the leader of the Soviet Union (clearly resembling Mikhail Gorbachev) after a meeting in Chicago with the President of the United States. Gallagher is joined by his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy), a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Army, and Chicago police Lt. Milan Delich (Dennis Franz). Sergeant Gallagher is later confined to the base. Later, when one of his ex-wife's people is killed and fearing that she's in danger, the sergeant escapes and saves her just as some people are trying to kill her. The sergeant and his ex-wife learn that something is happening in Chicago. They travel to the city and the Sergeant Gallagher asks a cop he knows to help him. Sergeant Gallagher finds out that disarmament talks are taking place in Chicago.

Cast

 * Gene Hackman as U.S. Army Master Sergeant Johnny Gallagher
 * Joanna Cassidy as U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Gallagher
 * Tommy Lee Jones as Thomas Boyette
 * John Heard as U.S. Army Colonel Glen Whitacre
 * Dennis Franz as Chicago Police Lieutenant Milan Delich
 * Pam Grier as U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Ruth Butler
 * Reni Santoni as Chicago Police lieutenant
 * Kevin Crowley as Walter Henke
 * Ron Dean as Karl Richards
 * Ike Pappas as himself
 * Carlos Sanz as Johnny's Field Soldier
 * Cody Glenn as Johnny's Field Soldier
 * Harry Lennix as Johnny's Field Soldier
 * Chelcie Ross as Gen. Hopkins
 * Nathan Davis as Soviet Press Secretary
 * Anatoly Davidov as Russian Colonel
 * Marco St. John as Marth

Production notes
Although the story takes place in Germany, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, and Chicago, the film was shot entirely in Chicago and at the Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten, Berlin.

Reception
The Package holds a 64% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews.

Home video
The film was first released on VHS by Orion Home Video in 1989. It was re-released by MGM Home Entertainment in 1999, under the MGM Movie Time series. The film was finally released on DVD on January 18, 2000.