The Domino Principle

Paranoid conspiracy thriller with Hackman as a crackshot Viet vet sprung from prison by unidentified government agencies for a sniping mission. With a lame script and the leaden hand of Kramer's direction, it blows most of its chances: dreadful clichés in the reunion scenes between Hackman and loyal waiting wife (Bergen); waste of interesting guest stars like Widmark and Rooney; dull use of establishing long shots for atmosphere; pretentious exchanges like 'Did you ever hear of Franz Kafka?' - 'Who's he?' - 'Nobody. Just a guy'. Worst of all - and unforgiveable in an action thriller - is that it simply fails to thrill.