Clint Eastwood is back--he's still mean, he's still tough, but now he's old. "In the Line of Fire" shows Eastwood in the type of role he was meant to play, the "has been" reaching for all the glory he can muster. Quality acting, exciting action scenes and deep characters make this one of the better action films.

Eastwood plays Frank Horrigan, a Secret Service man who still agonizes over his failure to stop John F. Kennedy '40's assassination. We're given the impression that in the 60s Frank was the "best and the brightest" of the agents, but now he's a 90s man who shows his compassion by playing the piano in bars on his off nights. Frank is a very human hero, a man who gets exhausted while running alongside the President's limo and groans about having a cold.

Eastwood seems to be made for the role, never breaking the "I'm a tough guy" attitude while showing the audience that he doesn't believe that himself. If this description seems too wimpy for the die-hard fans, it's not. Eastwood is still the grisly man you're all used to, and he looks good in a suit and tie as well.

Of course this wouldn't be a Clint Eastwood film without the famous one-liners, and this movie is not one to disappoint the fans. Eastwood looks seriously at the other characters with his hour-old beard and says, "I know things about people."

But this is not only a man who can only make himself mysterious, but also one who can be threatening to his friends. He says, "I'm sick, I'm tired and I'm armed too." The one-liners hardly rule the show, and after his quota is filled, Eastwood really gets into character, leaving nothing to be desired. He makes a good connection with the other two lead roles, those of Agent Lily Rains (Rene Russo) and the would be assassin, a man known first as "Booth" because of his obsession with Presidential assassinations.

Russo is a very believable independent modern-day female character as Rains, a person who hasn't lost her femininity despite being in a traditionally male occupation. Unfortunately for the audience, this leads to a romance that leaves the taste of sugar-coated cheesecake in the mouth. It's a jarring note amid the well-crafted, suspenseful action.

Maybe Rains knows that Horrigan has the face of a movie star, or maybe she is attracted to his suave piano playing in bars. It doesn't really matter, because their romance ends up looking like something from a summer beach movie rather than a serious relationship. The connection between the two characters would have worked just as well with a simple friendship, but apparently the creative team felt there had to be some cheese to go along with Eastwood's cracker-like demeanor.

Despite this flaw, the romance was a fresh concept in that it took place between working peers. Not allowing the romance to interfere with work was a hidden undertone that presented an interesting new angle. After supplying the next "Naked Gun" movie with loads of material, the romance did add some comic relief by revealing what Secret Service agents always carry in their pockets as well as the other things that Eastwood's character "knows" about.

A much more interesting aspect of the film relates to Horrigan's connection with the assassin played by John Malkovich. Malkovich's character is friendly to Eastwood's and becomes a haunting specter as he digs under Frank's skin, reminding Horrigan of his past "failure" to save Kennedy.

A true mastermind, Malkovich's character seems to be the cleverest person on the screen, which forces us to see Horrigan as someone definitely past his prime. Booth is a deep villain who sees meaning to what he's doing and attacks Eastwood's character psychologically. As a source of suspense, Malkovich's character is limitless, especially with the phone close-ups and chase scenes designed by director Wolfgang Peterson.

Peterson's style is conservative and appealing but leaves most of the attention to fall on Eastwood and the other players. He does show skill at foreshadowing by cleverly showing Frank empty his pockets early in the movie to build a joke as well as giving a long pan of the hotel tower to build suspense for the climax. In fact, the scenes form a nice web of interlocking pieces that help the film's consistency.

The movie doesn't need complex and creative filming techniques and the villain doesn't even have to die in an bizarre way. The action and suspense take over the show so none of that matters. "In the Line of Fire" keeps the audience yanking the pieces of the intrigue as if they were onion skins and makes them cry for more.

With the high-quality cast including Eastwood's caring macho attitude and Malkovich's malevolence, the bad romance is easily forgotten and the audience is left with a satisfying adventure.