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''Crackerjack'' (released in the Philippines as ''Agent of Destruction'') is a 1994 action film directed by
Michael Mazo Michael Mazo is a film director, writer and producer whose works are mainly in the action, horror and science fiction genres, but whose work also includes a documentary about ice hockey. Mazo co-wrote and directed the 1993 science fiction film ''T ...
and starring
Thomas Ian Griffith Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film ''The Karate Kid Part III'', a role he reprised in the fourth and fifth seasons of the television ...
,
Nastassja Kinski Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; , ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with ''Stay as You Are'' (1978). She then came to gl ...
and
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
.


Plot

Jack Wild (Thomas Ian Griffith) is a Chicago police officer dealing with post traumatic stress disorder after the murder of his wife and two children during an investigation into organized crime. Nicknamed "Crackerjack" by his colleagues due to his reckless behavior, Jack is forced into a family vacation with his older brother, Michael, and sister-in-law, Annie, at an isolated Rocky Mountains resort. Meanwhile, a kidnapped ice scientist has been forced to plant bombs in the surrounding glacier in a mysterious plot organized by the terrorist Ivan Getz (Christopher Plummer). Arriving at the resort via cable car, Jack meets the activities coordinator KC (Nastassja Kinski) whom he dances with that evening at dinner. While dancing, however, Jack recognizes the mob boss he was investigating when his family was murdered and, after causing a scene, leaves in a huff. At that moment, the terrorists take control of the resort and attempt to coerce the mob boss to hand over his cache of diamonds, but he refuses, and subsequently dies without revealing their location. Meanwhile, Jack has become a thorn in Getz’s side as he slowly picks off his men and searches for the diamonds himself to use as a bargaining chip. Jack signals for help from a nearby military base, but Getz shoots down the rescue helicopter, and sets up a bomb to destroy any rescue via cable car. While trying to warn a group of soldiers attempting a cable car rescue Jack is shot (as the soldiers believe he is a terrorist) and the cable car explodes, eliminating all hope of an immediate rescue. An injured Jack, realizing that Getz is the man who murdered his family, limps to the resort first aid station where he discovers the ice scientist hiding from the terrorists. The ice scientist reveals the imminent destruction of the hotel by avalanche, which makes Jack realize that the diamonds are hidden in the ice in the mob boss’ hotel room. When Jack arrives at the suite, Getz discovers him and the diamonds which he takes. As he explains, the diamonds are to be used to pay for and train a small army to take over the world and to rule it as the leader of a superior race. He then shoots Michael (who survives thanks to Jack’s hip flask which he took earlier in the film), and attempts to escape via helicopter. But Jack destroys the helicopter, and, along with all of the hotel guests, escapes to a nearby cave just as the glacier explodes destroying the hotel and killing Getz. KC, now out of a job, promises to visit Jack in Chicago.


Production

The film began shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia September 13, 1993 and completed shooting October 23, 1993. The film was released in United States on video March 21, 1995.


Release

''Crackerjack'' was released in the Philippines as ''Agent of Destruction'' by Solar Films on July 29, 1994.
Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed p ...
, a division of
Spelling Entertainment Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...
, acquired all U.S. rights to Crackerjack from North American Releasing.


Reception

The film received three stars from the ''DVD & Video Guide 2005'' which states that the movie "would have been even better if star Thomas Ian Griffith were a better actor."DVD & Video Guide 2005 By Mick Martin, Marsha Porter. Ballantine Books. p. 232

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DVD release

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
has yet to announce any plans to release the film onto DVD.


Sequels

The film spawned two sequels,
Crackerjack 2 ''Crackerjack 2'' (titled ''Hostage Train'' in the United States) is a 1997 action film starring Judge Reinhold and sequel to '' Crackerjack''. Plot A policeman working alone must rescue his girlfriend and a trainload of other hostages from vic ...
(Released in the US as Hostage Train) with
Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as ''Ruthless People'', ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', ''Stripes'' and ''Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the fil ...
taking over the role of Jack Wild, and
Crackerjack 3 ''Crackerjack 3'' is a 2000 spy action about a group of retired Cold War spies, including an outgoing CIA operative (Bo Svenson), who are forced to work together to thwart a neutron bomb attack at an Economic Summit in Germany. It was written by ...
which does not connect to the first two and focuses on Jack Thorn played by
Bo Svenson Bo Svenson (born Bo Ragnar Svensson; 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, film director, film producer, published author and award winning screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s. He has appea ...
.


References


External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, crackerjack_1994 1994 films 1990s action films 1990s action adventure films 1990s heist films American action adventure films American action films English-language Canadian films Canadian heist films Films about hostage takings Canadian action films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films