Hackford has an uncanny flair for thumping a story along at breakneck speed, ploughing through the most unyielding passages of plot exposition and the busiest shoals of plot twists.

The potential of the idea is sacrificed to a wild excess of plot and characters whose motives are generally as baffling as they are unpredictable.

Alas it does not work, though Hackford, who made An Officer And A Gentleman, is the kind of director who always looks as if he is just about to make something interesting.

...a passable endeavor that never quite becomes as gripping or engrossing as one might’ve anticipated...