We had not seen this movie over the years but caught it today on the Movies! channel. Jeff Bridges is football quarterback Terry Brogan, having just been fired by the Los Angeles Outlaws, in his 30s he still thinks he has a couple of good seasons in him, so he is trying to get his job back.During all this he is hired to find a wealthy missing 20-something, Rachel Ward as Jessie Wyler. This requires him to track her down in Cancun. Her mother is tied in with real estate developer Richard Widmark, as Ben Claxton, and there are some shady deals going on out of sight, including James Woods as Jake Wise. There are betrayals and murder, in the end he heads for Miami to try out and see if he can play there, and it looks like he will get the girl too! Moderately entertaining, but not a particularly memorable movie.

I saw it when it was released. It's on my list of most boring, overrated movies of the 80s, which includes Reds (starring Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton) and Chariots of Fire. Except for Rachel Ward, it was a waste of time. Although on the screen more in Odds as co-star, her smaller role as the mysterious high-price prostitute in a much better movie, Sharky's Machine, was more intriguing. After the Thornbirds mini series, her fans would go to see any movie she was in. Rachel and the title song--the first of Phil Collins' boring formula "hit" pop songs--were the forces behind the interest in the movie. It was the last straw for me going to see Jeff Bridges. His acting at that time consisted of pushing his hair back, squinting and puffing on a cigarette. He began really acting in The Fisher King and The Fabulous Baker Boys, and I became a fan. I've always liked James Woods' acting even in bad movies.

Taylor Hackford directed this surprisingly strong remake of "Out Of The Past" which stars Jeff Bridges as former NFL football player Terry Brogan, who has just been cut from his team, and is desperately in need of money, so reluctantly takes a job from his shady friend Jake Wise(played by James Woods) to locate his missing girlfriend Jessie Wyler(played by Rachel Ward). He does find her in Mexico, but they both fall madly in love, which makes her subsequent return home to Jake all the more bizarre to Terry, who isn't so willing to give up on her. Jessie's mother(played by Jane Greer) is a powerful real-estate developer who objects strongly to the romance, and her chief representative(played by Richard Widmark) tries to scare him off, though he is unsuccessful, leading to a most dramatic and romantic end... Fine cast and direction, with compelling story and a truly haunting title song by Phil Collins make this a winner. Ending is truly bittersweet, yet there remains hope, and contains a classic closing scene...Not to be missed.

How do I hate this movie: let me count the ways. Unsympathetic characters; silly plot; no suspense; terrible editing; LOTS of "filler" between key scenes; an Eighties time capsule with the ugly interior decor, big hair, and period clothing. Seeing Rachel Ward slipping in and out of the era's baggy clothing made me long for "Flashdance" instead of this tripe. As one of the other reviewers noted: 2 hours out of my life wasted.Anything positive to say? Phil Collins' song is good; the car chase is pretty good; the Mayans were phenomenal architects. Chichen Itza and Tulum are the most interesting characters in the film. Lastly, a noir-ish film star from an earlier era, Jane Greer, playing Ward's mother, shows that she aged gracefully.