Although the story is set in various places around the world, nearly all of the film (including scenes set in Washington and Germany) were filmed in the area of director Andrew Davis' hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
Tommy Lee Jones and Gene Hackman frequently clashed regarding the filming of the screenplay. Hackman was a "less-is-more" actor who felt he could convey story elements without vast pages of dialogue by simply acting. As such, many scenes were trimmed much to the annoyance of Jones who felt his role was being sacrificed.
One of three movies Tommy Lee Jones made with director Andrew Davis, the other two being Cuirassé en péril (1992) and Le fugitif (1993).
The original script had the same story about a political conspiracy, but the entire film was to take place inside an Army base, similar to contained thrillers like Piège de cristal (1988). Andrew Davis was brought aboard and liked the story but decided to expand the scope of the action and set the film across many locales.