In 1991, relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were beginning to thaw slightly, but that didn't mean the CIA wasn't up to its usual tricks and double-dealing with the KGB. In Company Business, old ex-CIA agent Sam Boyd (Gene Hackman) is pulled out of retirement to do one last job for "The Company": supervise a hush-hush trade of a captured Russian spy (Mikhail Baryshnikov) for a U.S. spy.

Company Business is a peculiarly dated film: content-wise, it's very clearly set in its 1991 air date, as it's peppered with references to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev and Soviet politics of increasing openness, and various U.S. political events such as the Iran-contra affair and Oliver North. The very premise of the film is very time-specific, as we have the two spies find themselves in a political no-man's-land due to the changed relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. On the one hand, it makes an interesting change from the generic world politics of the Bond franchise, but on the other hand those added touches will fall flat for anyone who doesn't remember (or never knew) much about U.S. and world politics in the 1990s.

I say "peculiarly" dated, because although the film itself is clearly set in the 1990s, as a film it somehow feels very much like a thriller from the late 1970s or 1980s. It's hard to put my finger on why it feels that way, except perhaps that the dim lighting and bland, brownish color palette just say "1980s!" to me. The story itself is also fairly representative of earlier films of the type, including the sense of the threatening bureaucracy on both sides, and the obligatory high-profile foreign setting at the climax (in this case, the Eiffel Tower).

After an interesting beginning that turns out to be completely irrelevant to the plot, Company Business sets itself up as a political thriller and then quickly becomes more of a Fugitive-like men-on-the-run story. Probably the best way to describe the film is to say that Company Business is a very relaxed thriller. The characters themselves seem to be taking the whole thing as rather a lark, with frequent one-liners from Baryshnikov adding to the light mood. Both the KGB and the CIA may be out to get them, but hey! It's just one more day in the life of a spy. It's the bureaucrats who are depicted as the "heavies," stepping in to do the only acts of real violence or threat in the film, while Hackman and Baryshnikov are almost innocents on the run together.

All in all, it's reasonably entertaining. Gene Hackman is, as usual, fun to watch, even if I get the sense that this film didn't require much more from him than just showing up on the set. In general, Company Business is a film that does its job adequately but doesn't really stretch itself to do anything out of the ordinary.

The DVD

Video

Company Business is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that is best described as "ordinary." There's nothing particularly terrible about it, but a number of things keep it firmly lodged in the "average" category. The print has a fairly large amount of noise and grain in many scenes, though others are somewhat cleaner; a few small speckles show up in the image from time to time, but otherwise there aren't any flaws in the print. Contrast in dark scenes is a bit lacking as well, so that while blacks are nicely deep, there's hardly any detail evident in the darker areas. The colors as a whole have a general lack of vibrancy that makes Company Business rather ho-hum visually.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack for Company Business falls a notch below average here, providing a flat and uninvolving audio experience. The sound as a whole lacks depth or richness, and is heavily focused toward the center, offering little spatial separation of the actors' voices. The special effects, from gunshots to explosions, are presented in an equally flat manner, so that there's very little surprise value or impressiveness for the viewer.

In addition to the English 2.0 track, Company Business includes a dubbed French mono track and a Spanish mono track. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.

Extras

The only special feature is a trailer for the film, which is at least presented in anamorphic widescreen.

Final thoughts

Company Business isn't bad as a fluffy action movie, especially since at barely over an hour and a half, it's not long enough to drag. With the low rewatchability of this film combined with the mediocre transfer, the moderately entertaining Company Business comes in as a perfect rental.