In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Inefficient, slow, cumbersome. Makes its plot points awkwardly and makes them several times unnecessarily. Geneviève Bujold is good, and she looks good. She is a good counterpoint to Clint. But there are too many hookers and blonde bimbos. "A dark side in all of us." Good speech. The worst thing is the movie's lack of efficiency. It takes so long to make its plot points and advance the story that it's like listening to story told by someone who has a bad cold and is on some medication that makes them talk slowly and only make sense about half the time. I wanted the movie to blow its nose, clear its throat, and get on with it. Bad movie.

During what I have come to think of as his "early period" in the sixties, Clint Eastwood was best known for acting in Westerns, but by his "middle period" in the seventies and eighties the Western genre was in decline so (with a couple of exceptions such as "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale Rider") he was forced to reinvent himself. During this period he was probably best known for cop thrillers. He made no fewer than five featuring his iconic "Dirty Harry" character, but also played a detective in several other films.Eastwood tried hard to make each of his characters an individual in his own right; they might also be police detectives but that does not mean that they are simply Dirty Harry under another name and transferred to a different city. His character in "Tightrope", Wes Block, is quite different not only from Harry but also from Walt Coogan, Eastwood's "cool dude" cop in "Coogan's Bluff" or from Ben Shockley, the washed-up alcoholic he played in "The Gauntlet". Block is a divorcée whose wife has left him to bring up their two daughters Penny and Amanda. (Amanda is played by Eastwood's real-life daughter Alison). He is hard-working and conscientious and is devoted to his two girls, as well as to the family's numerous pet dogs. He is often seen with a drink in his hand, but his drinking is not made a plot point as it is with Shockley in "The Gauntlet". As we shall see, however, he also has a dark side.The action takes place in New Orleans. A serial killer is preying on the city's vice girls, and Block is assigned to the case. He has, however, something more than a purely professional interest in the case. He is himself a user of the services of prostitutes, and some of the dead women were personally known to him in the course of their profession rather than his. (It is implied that he only began using prostitutes after his wife left him and that this was not the reason for the break-up of his marriage). As the story progresses we also discover that the killer has a personal interest in Block, and that not only Block but also his daughters and his new girlfriend Beryl are in danger. (But then we could have guessed that from the start. It is one of the unwritten rules of Hollywood that in any police procedural involving a serial killer the villain must have a personal grudge against the detective, or take a sadistic pleasure in playing psychological mind-games with him, or both).The film is perhaps overlong, and the plot is occasionally obscure, making it difficult to work out exactly what is going on. One thing that is never explained is why Block's superiors never took him off the case when they realised that he had a personal involvement. (In a high-profile homicide case like this one he would not have been working alone but would have been part of a team). Director Richard Tuggle, however, manages to generate an atmosphere not only of suspense but also of seediness and moral corruption. Although New Orleans is one of America's most photogenic cities, we do not see much of its glamorous touristic side, only its dark underbelly. Eastwood also gives a good performance, making Block someone we can sympathise with despite his flaws. The film is not in the class of the original "Dirty Harry", but it is considerably better than the weaker entries in that franchise, such as "The Dead Pool", or the ludicrously improbable "The Gauntlet". 6/10

I love this movie. For me, this is one of Clint Eastwood's best films. I love a good mystery and crime-thrilling movies so Tightrope is right up my alley. I agree with others that Tightrope is definitely in the Film Noir category. It is a very dark, mystery that has enough action and thrills to satisfy any Eastwood fan.Clint Eastwood is amazing as usual in this bizarre crime mystery. Eastwood is good as Wes Block - not just as Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood proves, once again, that he's more than just a shot-them-up anti-hero - he's a serious and fine actor/director.9/10

"Tightrope" is a story about the classic split between good and bad that exists in all of us, the struggle to keep the "dark side" at bay and the challenges that have to be faced when exposure to certain stimuli make the "dark side" more difficult to control. In the case of New Orleans detective Wes Block (Clint Eastwood), his experience of having been deserted by his wife, left him feeling threatened by women and needing to regain some control. The way that he did this was perverse, as he developed a taste for visiting prostitutes in the French Quarter who were content to be handcuffed.To quote one of the characters in "Tightrope", "there's a darkness in all of us"......."some have it under control, others act it out. The rest of us try to walk on a tightrope between the two". The level of success that can be achieved in walking the tightrope is determined by a number of factors and in Block's case, it's made clear that his many years of dealing with sex crimes had affected him in some way that had contributed to his aberrant behaviour.Detective Block is assigned to investigate the murder of a young woman who'd been raped and strangled and soon after, another victim is found in a hot tub. Both women were prostitutes and both had been killed in the same way. In the course of his investigations, Block visits the victims' co-workers and after questioning them, has sex with them.Block is a troubled character who struggles with profound feelings of guilt and becomes even more uncomfortable when the next victim is a prostitute he'd been with on the night before her death. The killer then goes on to taunt Block in a way which makes it clear that he's aware of the detective's sexual predilections. Block then becomes tormented by similarities that he recognises between himself and the killer and even suffers nightmares as a consequence.Block is divorced but enjoys a happy family life with his two young daughters. During the course of his investigation, he meets Beryl Thibodeaux (Genevieve Bujold), a rape counsellor and self-defence instructor who wants to be involved in the investigation. Gradually their friendship develops and they get to know each other better.The serial killer leaves some evidence behind at a crime scene which indicates that he probably works in a brewery but when this lead is pursued, Beryl and Block's daughters' lives are put in jeopardy before the culprit's reign of terror is finally brought to an end.Block's inherent duality and the journey that he travels as he (through his relationship with Beryl), overcomes his need to use handcuffs, makes him an interesting character and Clint Eastwood's remarkably subtle performance is both impressive and vital to the success of the movie. Genevieve Bujold and Dan Hedaya are also good in their supporting roles."Tightrope" is an intriguing film which is often suspenseful. Lennie Niehaus' score is wonderfully evocative of New Orleans and Bruce Surtees' shadowy cinematography is tremendous as it does so much to enhance the mood of impending danger and psychological darkness that prevails throughout the whole movie.