Crisis in the Kremlin

My review was written in July 1992 after watching the movie on New Horizons video cassette.

The attempted coup in 1991 in the former Soviet Union is fodder for an okay low-budget actioner "Crisis in the Kremlin". Originally titled "Red Target", pic benefits from atmospheric location filming.

Robert Rusler toplines aws a young CIA agent who's sent from Moscow to Vilnius to foil a supposed plot by Lithuanian freedom fighters to kill Gorbachev. Quickly it's learned that evil Soviet Gen. Chernov (Borris Loukanov) is behind the plot, with an honest Lithuanian boy Vlad (Doug Wert) chosen as the hitman.

Amidst some exciting chase scenes shot in Bulgaria, Russia and Germany, Rusler teams up with Vlad's sister-in-law Yanina (Denise Bixler) to head off the killer. Theodore Bikel guest stars as a former KGB operative.

Vlad's escapes are unbelievable, mainly inserted to keep the pot boiling. A happy ending is contrived that reflects the increasing difficulty of finding suitable bad guys in post-Cold War thrillers.

Jponathan Winfrey, who's worked his way up in Roger Corman's Concorde school of filmmaking, directs competently and humorlessly. Cast is adequate though several supporting players are crudely dubbed.