Simply A Masterpiece

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Right out of the gate, you have to accept the premise of this film if you want to afford it any kind of credibility. It's a fairly compelling story right up until the point where we find out that Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman) is the President of the United States. The same President who accompanies the wife of an important political backer to her home for the purpose of carrying on an extramarital affair. I mean really, what President would have the wherewithal to conduct a private liaison like that when virtually every minute of his day is scheduled and recorded? Who did Hackman think he is, Bill Clinton?Now if you removed the character of the President as villain, this would have worked a whole lot better. Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) could have found himself in the same series of predicaments and it would have appeared a lot more credible. There was however his relationship with daughter Kate (Laura Linney) that suggested a question mark for this viewer. With Kate admitting she wanted nothing to do with her father, and hadn't seen him in a year before he made contact again, how was it that she happened to have his phone number handy? Not saying it was impossible, but her face to face denunciation of Luther seemed to suggest that she would have kept him entirely at arm's length with no intention of ever communicating with him.I thought the ending was just a bit too stand pat as well. In his press conference, Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall) claims that the despondent President committed suicide by stabbing himself!!! With no witnesses!!! In a closed room with only the two of them face to face!!! And there didn't seem to be a hint of suspicion by anyone about the credibility of that story. Best thing folks, is to leave your brain at the door with this one and just roll with the action. It's actually not as bad as the way I made it sound here, but you have to suspend disbelief in a major way on the way to the finish line.

One of the worst movies I ever saw. Makes no sense. Clint should be ashamed of himself for foisting this on the public. Some other reviewers have itemized a few of the plot holes, and I validate everything they said. No need to repeat the details.

Continuing my plan to watch every Clint Eastwood movie in order I come to Absolute Power (1997)Plot In A Paragraph: Luther Whitney (Eastwood) a career thief witnesses a horrific crime involving the U.S. President (Gene Hackman).At 67, Clint was clearly slowing down now. This was released 2 years after his last movie (The Bridges Of Madison County) and that followed 2 years after A Perfect World. For a man who often released several movies a year, this was quite a change of pace.It's a bit of a mixed bag this one, the disguises (Master of disguise) Clint uses are not very good and some of it's not very logical, but the acting raises it above average. Absolute Power's awesome acting ensemble includes Gene Hackan, Scott Glenn Scott, E.G Marshall (in his last role) and the ever reliable Ed Harris and they are all great. One of the things I noticed rewatching this is how parenting and fatherhood in particular, proved a key theme as in A Perfect World, and like several other Eastwood characters Whitney follows his own personal code. He is a thief, but he has a sense of honour. This is partially what makes him a sympathetic character alongside his good sense of humour and his apparent avoidance of needless violence. Absolute Power was not a box office success. The movie earned a total domestic box office gross of $50 million to end 1997 as the 38th highest grossing movie of the year.

Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) is a master burglar. He breaks into the mansion of President's friend tycoon Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall). From behind a two-way mirror, he sees President Allen Richmond (Gene Hackman) having sex with Walter's wife Christy. It gets rough. Secret Service Agents Bill Burton (Scott Glenn) and Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert) kill her. Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) tries to cover up the incident by staging a burglary. Luther manages to steal an incriminating piece of evidence. His daughter Kate Whitney (Laura Linney) is his only family. Police detectives Seth Frank (Ed Harris) is investigating the case.The opening could not be any slower. Eastwood is feeling the weight of that AARP membership card. The tension never gets too high. There's a couple of good scenes but they are few and far between. The other problem is that much of this movie doesn't make sense. Somebody makes an off chance comment that the burglar cleaned up. It would make sense for the police to check the vacuum cleaner. Luther tells Kate that the President is trying to kill him. It would make sense for her to seek protection that a prosecutor presumably has access to. Why would he pass a note in the White House? It would make sense for him to lay low and his note adds nothing anyways. How does an old man stage a presidential suicide by knife? It would make sense for anybody with a brain to question its validity. This slow thriller has limited believability.