A cool-sounding title for a film to which the actual movie itself doesn't quite match up. It's a strange mish-mash of a Bond-type espionage thriller and cliff-hanging mountaineering actioner which makes you think you're watching two films spliced together. It begins by introducing us to Clint as the oddly named Jonathon Hemlock, an art teacher by day, pushing away, albeit with a pat on the behind, the pretty young college girls who have the hots for him, but who's also a hired assassin for a secret Government agency in his spare time, where he answers to a mysterious / ridiculous albino, rasping-voiced boss called Mr Dragon you can barely see on the screen as he's bathed in infra-red light to alleviate his condition.Clint's Hemlock wants off the murder-go-round but is lured back for one last double-hit when an old colleague gets taken out by a pair of enemy assassins over the theft of a nerve-agent (read McGoffin) the ownership which of course could threaten world peace plus the mission has to take place during a climb up the north face of the Eiger alongside three other climbers any one of whom could be our man's target. Did I mention that Hemlock is a crack mountaineer who's twice tried and failed to climb the mountain or that he's a discerning art lover whose price per hit includes modern art masterpieces he keeps in a secret room?The problem with the movie is in the jarring schism between the two elements which the direction can't bridge. A Bond movie might give over 20 minutes to both these strands and move onto the next action set-piece but here the film dawdles over the scene-setting extended prologue before abruptly shifting to and then staying with the mountain scenes for its second hour.Naturally, along the way, a bevy of "Clint Birds" throw themselves at our hero, in a film which highlights (or should that be "low-lights" in retrospect the cliched and sexist way women were usually treated in action films of this type - one shapely minor female character goes by the name of "Buns" which pretty much says it all. The cliches continue with Jack Cassidy's turn or should that be twirl as a camp ex-colleague of Hemlock's who gets his come-uppance for past and current treachery and the depiction of a moody but athletic young Native American female beauty who inevitably rewards Hemlock for completing his exacting "training runs" with her by silently slipping into bed with him - anyone else would get a congratulatory clap on the back but of course, as ever, it's good to be Clint in his own movie. The climbing scenes are well shot and don't lack for realism or drama as Clint saunters through the unconvincing story-line even at 20000 feet on a snow-peaked mountain, but I personally found it to be more of an uphill climb over its 126 minute viewing time.

This was the third film Clint Eastwood directed and starred in, I had no idea what it would involve, and apparently it was rejected by Paul Newman, despite low ratings I was going to give it a try. Basically art history professor and collector Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is a retired government assassin, formerly of a secret government agency called "C2", since his retirement he has a collection of twenty-one rare masterpiece paintings, paid for by the previous assassinations he carried out. But he is forced into one last assignment by his former employee Dragon (Thayer David), an albino ex-Nazi confined to semi-darkness and kept alive by blood transfusions, he wants Hemlock to carry out to work on two more "sanctions", a euphemism for officially approved killings. The sanction is to avenge the death of another government agent, code name Wormwood (Frank Redmond), to kill the two men responsible, Hemlock refuses and insists he is retired, but Dragon threatens to expose his art collection to the IRS. Hemlock agrees to carry out the first assassination for $20,000, double his usual fee, but he refuses to do the second, and the money is stolen by C2 courier Jemima Brown (Vonetta McGee), who seduced him. Hemlock knows that Dragon sent Jemima, Dragon agrees to pay him back, $100,00 plus expenses, if he will complete the sanction, his target is a member of an international mountain climbing team that will attempt to climb the north face of the Eiger mountain in Switzerland. Hemlock tried to ascend the Eiger twice himself, but failed, Draggon cannot confirm the target's identity, but knows that he has a limp, to help Hemlock prepare, he travels to Arizona to train at climbing school, run by his old friend Ben Bowman (George Kennedy), there he gets back into shape, and also gets help from an attractive Native American woman named George (Brenda Venus), later revealed to be Bowman's daughter. There Hemlock also encounters his old enemy Miles Mellough (Jack Cassidy), a former ally from the military who betrayed him, Mellough tries and fails to have Hemlock drugged, Hemlock later lures Mellough and his bodyguard, the bodyguard is shot while Mellough is left in the sun to die. Hemlock is ready to ascend the Eiger, he joins a climbing party at the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes at Kleine Scheidegg, headstrong and condescending German member Karl Freytag (Reiner Schöne) has planned a route up the mountain. The men begin to ascend the mountain, but weather conditions become poor, a French climber is struck by rocks and dies, and later Freytag and the Austrian climber Anderl Meyer (Michael Grimm) fall to their deaths, Hemlock is saved while dangling alone. Bowman and a rescue crew make their way to help, Hemlock notices Bowman limping as he approaches, he recognises he is the target, despite his reluctance to trust him, Hemlock allows Bowman to pull him to safety. On the train returning to Kleine Scheidegg, Bowman to being involved with "the other side" years ago, and his involvement with Mellough, Bowman tries to mend the relationship between him and Hemlock, in the end Hemlock decides to lie to Dragon and tell him that all targets were assassinated, Jemima questions this, while Bowman leaves. Also starring Heidi Brühl as Mrs. Montaigne and Jean-Pierre Bernard as Montaigne. Eastwood does his usual grouchy act fine, Kennedy is alright, and David only seen in red coloured rooms is interesting, but I agree with critics, this is one of the weakest of Eastwood's self-directed films, the first half was sort of interesting, then it tries to be like a James Bond style adventure, some of the mountain climbing drama got my attention, but overall I found the film fairly boring and predictable, a dull and disappointing spy thriller. Adequate!

Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) is an art history professor, expert mountaineer and a former government assassin who performed "sanctions" for C2. He abhors the public seeing and not appreciating great pieces of art. He uses his fees to amass a high end collection. His albino ex-Nazi blood-transfusing former boss Dragon coerces him into taking out two men who killed agent Wormwood who turns out to be his friend who once saved his life. After killing the first man, the second man is found to be part of an international mountaineering team climbing the north face of Eiger in Switzerland. It's up to Hemlock to discover his identity. He gets back in shape with his friend Ben Bowman (George Kennedy) who guides him on the climb.I can't really describe properly the large amount of stupidity in this Bondlike thriller. The dialog is pretty bad. The Dragon is laughable. Hemlock isn't cool but is a weird combo. I keep thinking Dirty Harry has become an elitist art expert and mountain climber. It's weird. There's an unnecessary side trip with a faggot villain. That whole section should be cut out and he should get to the mountain as soon as possible. At least, there are some good vertigo-inducing picturesque climbing scenes.

Clint Eastwood both directed and stars in this spy-type thriller as a classical art teacher, collector, and professional assassin(!) named Jonathan Hemlock who has been called upon to come out of retirement to avenge the death of a friend and former colleague, which leads him to a mountain climbing group as the prime suspects, helped by its guide(played by George Kennedy) who must climb the treacherous Eiger mountain to uncover the truth... Failed attempt at a thriller only has attractive scenery to compensate for the poorly plotted and overlong story that moves quite slowly, cluttered with too many bizarre characters. A real misfire from Eastwood.