This article appeared in the November 24 edition of The Film Comment Letter, our free weekly newsletter featuring original film criticism and writing. Sign up for the Letter here.

Flashpoint
William Tannen, 1984

Streaming on multiple platforms

With an unbelievable cast and a healthy dose of paranoid politics, it’s a shame that this fun 1984 action flick isn’t better known. Kris Kristofferson stars as a typically grizzled border patrol agent who, with hot-head partner Treat Williams, discovers a half-buried jeep containing a corpse that just might be the real assassin of JFK. As the rebel cops creep closer to the truth—with help from wised-up sheriff Rip Torn and local girl Jean Smart—menacing government suits Miguel Ferrer and Kurtwood Smith descend and the bullets start flying.