Great Story/Film with WEAK Direction!

This director doesn't understand how to put things together and control the output. This near-great movie isn't even good until 2/3rds of the way through, because it is at once too obvious and too understated. This is almost like a Bourne movie that predates Bourne, but the director blows it and makes it like any low-budget foreign spy movie.

The beginning covers much, much too much in just a few minutes (it's like watching eight seasons of 24 in twenty minutes), but by the end it is almost less than real time.

For me, the highlight of the film (aside from the obvious finale scene that everyone is here talking about) is the scene where the girl has a political argument with the US Secretary of State. It is very well written and very clever dialog.

Lewis Collins is super, super cool, and the lady terrorist, although not lifelike believable, is very, very good.

The music is kind of good aside from being dated.

The director really ruined this.

If Ridley/Tony Scott had done this film, it would have blown your mind...