I remember this screened on TV in Brisbane when I was growing up and someone had cut together a jaunty commercial for it, to the theme of "Peter Gunn". It seemed lively and bright and emphasised the stunts. But the result is a train wreck which is an embarassment for Canada.
Maybe if it had been a straight up thriller it wouldn't have been that bad but it tries for a light Hitchcockian tone, I think anyway, with elements of The Big Sleep. There are endless comic bits and pieces which are like nails on a chalkboard.
The plot has Richard Harris as an accountant who goes to work for a rich family, where the black sheep (Christopher Plummer) has stolen money from the mafia and CIA. I think that's what it is. Beverly d'Angelo is Plummer's sister.
Harris is a bumbling accountant who can also do things like drive cars well and fly helicopters; d'Angelo does barely anything until the very end (though she looks good) and there's no scenes showing much of a romance between her and Harris.
There are some fine Canadian actors in this: Chris Plummer, Kate Reid, Robin Gammell (CIA guy), Saul Rubinek and Maury Chaykin (mugging furiously in a double act). But it's awful. The action is chopped about, it doesn't make sense.
There are some intriguing bits: Harris gets out of a tight spot by turning up the sound on a TV via remote; a chase involving horse drawn carriages which results in one plunging into the water; the final fall on the CN Tower (not bad... until it goes out of focus and they cut away too soon from it).
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