This movie is not The Fugitive or Air Force One but it's a pretty good movie and I liked the script. If you have the opportunity to watch it, don't miss it. The plot is very interesting and both, Mariel Hemingway and Doug Savant, are convincing in their roles. Sometimes movies have a high rating and they are not what you're looking for, other times you watch movies with a low rating and get a nice surprise.
24 Reviews
If we make it out of here, you owe me a dance!
sol-kay11 November 2005
(Some Spoilers) A tit for tat war between the US Government and a militia group called the "American Freedom Fighters" lead by their combat and political supreme commander Michael Smith, David Wheeler, is the central story in the made for TV movie "First Daughter".
After an ATF raid at the American freedom Fighters headquarters in Michigan the "Freedom Fighters" struck back at a Berverly Hills fund raising dinner for Presdent Jonathan Hayes, Gregory Harrison, that resulted in the deaths of a dozen freedom fighters and secret service agents. During the fire fight secret service agent Alex McGeregor ,Mariel Hemingway,saved the president's life by pushing him out of the presidential limousine after it was hit by an armor-piercing anti-tank rocket that almost tore it in half.
Called unprofessional for not following orders by her boss Daily, Alan Dale, Alex faces dismissal from the secret service, Daily's a by-the-book fanatic who had his brain stuck up his butt for so long that he was unable to use any God-given common sense that might enter it, even if the President of the United States life was at stake.
Despite Daily's objection President Hayes assigns Agent McGeregor to look after his bratty and 16 year-old daughter Jess, Monica Keena,on a field trip with her friends in the isolated Colorado Rockies. Which also happens to be where the members of the militia the "American freedom Fighters" are hanging out in. Right after the shoot-out in Beverly Hills the ATF tracked down the Freedom Fighters in rural Minnasota. After another bloody shootout the ATF captured it's leader Michael Smith. The Freedom fighters seeing Jess and her friends alone in the woods see their golden opportunity to have their leader freed from prison, with Jess held as hostage and facing death if he's not.
Pretty good thriller with Mariel Hemingway very physical in her role as agent Alex McGregor who slugs it out with the "Freedom Fighters" as well as her off-the-wall and by-the-book boss Daily and the man in charge of the camping troop that included Jess. Agent Grant Coleman, ,Dough Savant, after getting good and drunk got his wrist almost broken after he tried to get too close and friendly with Alex.
Grant later saved Alex's life when she stepped on a trip-wire, set by the Freedom Fighters,that had her change her very negative feelings about him. The Freedom Fighters Troy Dirk & Troy's younger brother Eric, Dominic Purcell Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Sadrinna, capture Jess after wiping out all the secret service agents and a number of the campers and demand an exchange of her for their leader Michael Smith.
Exciting ending with Alex saving Jess' life and then being chased by Troy in a deadly and dangerous rubber raft ride with Troy getting some sense knocked into his head by Daily. In the end Daily finally realized that Alex was right all along in her actions that saved the president life. Like she was in saving the life of his daughter Jess.
After an ATF raid at the American freedom Fighters headquarters in Michigan the "Freedom Fighters" struck back at a Berverly Hills fund raising dinner for Presdent Jonathan Hayes, Gregory Harrison, that resulted in the deaths of a dozen freedom fighters and secret service agents. During the fire fight secret service agent Alex McGeregor ,Mariel Hemingway,saved the president's life by pushing him out of the presidential limousine after it was hit by an armor-piercing anti-tank rocket that almost tore it in half.
Called unprofessional for not following orders by her boss Daily, Alan Dale, Alex faces dismissal from the secret service, Daily's a by-the-book fanatic who had his brain stuck up his butt for so long that he was unable to use any God-given common sense that might enter it, even if the President of the United States life was at stake.
Despite Daily's objection President Hayes assigns Agent McGeregor to look after his bratty and 16 year-old daughter Jess, Monica Keena,on a field trip with her friends in the isolated Colorado Rockies. Which also happens to be where the members of the militia the "American freedom Fighters" are hanging out in. Right after the shoot-out in Beverly Hills the ATF tracked down the Freedom Fighters in rural Minnasota. After another bloody shootout the ATF captured it's leader Michael Smith. The Freedom fighters seeing Jess and her friends alone in the woods see their golden opportunity to have their leader freed from prison, with Jess held as hostage and facing death if he's not.
Pretty good thriller with Mariel Hemingway very physical in her role as agent Alex McGregor who slugs it out with the "Freedom Fighters" as well as her off-the-wall and by-the-book boss Daily and the man in charge of the camping troop that included Jess. Agent Grant Coleman, ,Dough Savant, after getting good and drunk got his wrist almost broken after he tried to get too close and friendly with Alex.
Grant later saved Alex's life when she stepped on a trip-wire, set by the Freedom Fighters,that had her change her very negative feelings about him. The Freedom Fighters Troy Dirk & Troy's younger brother Eric, Dominic Purcell Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Sadrinna, capture Jess after wiping out all the secret service agents and a number of the campers and demand an exchange of her for their leader Michael Smith.
Exciting ending with Alex saving Jess' life and then being chased by Troy in a deadly and dangerous rubber raft ride with Troy getting some sense knocked into his head by Daily. In the end Daily finally realized that Alex was right all along in her actions that saved the president life. Like she was in saving the life of his daughter Jess.
Not bad for a TV movie
chrisrice12 October 2001
I thought this was going to be quite uneventful and boring but it turned out to be fairly good for a TV movie, and the acting wasn't bad except for the Jess's love interest. One gripe I have, and this is probably only because i'm from Australia, once I noticed that it was filmed here I couldn't get over the fact that it did not look anything like Colorado, where it was supposedly set. Unfortunately there's a distinct lack of gum trees in Colorado and another distinct lack of towering snow capped mountains in Australia as well
A reasonably good tv-quality drama.
=G=4 November 2000
"First Daughter" has deficits in all the usual made-for-television ways. Poor technical consulting, contrived miniclimaxes every so often followed by cut-to-black for commercial breaks, 2nd tier acting talent, low budget, etc. Nonetheless, this predictable fabrication manages it's genre attributes well mixing comedy, romance, suspense, action, etc. resulting in an entertaining watch.
Movie about somebody protecting the President's daughter!
Go_Skins4 April 2005
I thought this was an okay movie. It was on cable t.v.the other day so I watched it. I used to to be a fan of Pro Wrestling and I found out that Diamond Dallas Page was in this one! This was about a secret service agent (Hemmingway) who tried in the beginning of the movie to protect the President using her own judgment and not "by the book." Well, that move cost sentenced her basically to go with the President's daughter to a retreat for teens. The daughter feels too much of the pressure of her dad's office is smothering her and her life. She and the agent become good friends after she gets found towards the end. I just had one question though, where was the First Lady or was he divorced? They didn't really show that.
Laughable...
Smokey-1511 October 1999
Best TV movie ever? Hardly... anybody seen a little movie called DUEL? Hmmm, I guess not. A 6.0 out of 10? And all this positive feedback? Methinks the producers of this little opus are hiking up the score... Don't you guys have anything better to do, like actually reading the scripts of a movie you're producing? If so, then maybe this disaster might not have been dumped on us.
The plot isn't worth mentioning, Doug ("I'm not gay...") Savant and Hemingway are suitably awful, and one of the films producers is the guy who played the midget jerk brother on "The Wonder Years". 'nuff said. Avoid.
The plot isn't worth mentioning, Doug ("I'm not gay...") Savant and Hemingway are suitably awful, and one of the films producers is the guy who played the midget jerk brother on "The Wonder Years". 'nuff said. Avoid.
Decent outdoors-y thriller
gridoon202410 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"First Daughter" is a standardized but competently made outdoors-based kidnapping thriller. Considering it's a TV production, it doesn't shy away from violence to the degree you might expect, has some decent explosions and stunts, a couple of vertiginous climbing and rafting scenes, etc. The story is not going to blow anyone's mind with its originality, but it serves its purpose for 93 minutes. The solidly built Mariel Hemingway makes a good, physical action heroine, though I would have preferred her to finish off the last bad guy by herself, instead of desperately needing outside assistance. This was followed three years later by "First Shot", a film so boring that I stopped watching it halfway through. Maybe I should give it another chance. **1/2 out of 4.
Lame TV Movie
FlickJunkie-22 November 2000
This was lame even for a TV movie. The best part of the film was the first five minutes showing an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. After that, the film goes into free fall.
Mariel Hemingway plays a secret service agent who is charged with guarding the President's self-absorbed teenage daughter on an outward-bound type trip of rafting, climbing and living in the wilderness for a week. The bad-guy militiamen kidnap the brat and all the force at the disposal of the United States is coalesced to rescue her.
The entire story is so contrived and poorly presented that it is laughable. How lucky that of all the places on earth these militiamen could have gone hunting, they picked the same exact wilderness that the President's daughter was frolicking. Moreover, it was even more propitious that they happened to have all their high tech surveillance, radio and radar equipment with them while they were bow hunting.
It was also extraordinarily fortunate that Agent McGregor (Hemingway), who had never attempted rock climbing in her life before this trip, was so instantly adept at it that her next climb was a two hundred foot vertical climb without tether. The ridiculousness they ask us to swallow continues unending.
The action sequences were only fair, and the special effects were a joke. The music was awful and the film would cut to black for five seconds between certain scenes where the commercials would be placed. I don't even want to get into the acting. Dreadful.
Even action junkies will be disappointed by this film. I rated it a 3/10. Miss it.
Mariel Hemingway plays a secret service agent who is charged with guarding the President's self-absorbed teenage daughter on an outward-bound type trip of rafting, climbing and living in the wilderness for a week. The bad-guy militiamen kidnap the brat and all the force at the disposal of the United States is coalesced to rescue her.
The entire story is so contrived and poorly presented that it is laughable. How lucky that of all the places on earth these militiamen could have gone hunting, they picked the same exact wilderness that the President's daughter was frolicking. Moreover, it was even more propitious that they happened to have all their high tech surveillance, radio and radar equipment with them while they were bow hunting.
It was also extraordinarily fortunate that Agent McGregor (Hemingway), who had never attempted rock climbing in her life before this trip, was so instantly adept at it that her next climb was a two hundred foot vertical climb without tether. The ridiculousness they ask us to swallow continues unending.
The action sequences were only fair, and the special effects were a joke. The music was awful and the film would cut to black for five seconds between certain scenes where the commercials would be placed. I don't even want to get into the acting. Dreadful.
Even action junkies will be disappointed by this film. I rated it a 3/10. Miss it.
Very nice
Streetwolf3 August 2001
Some of the films Gregory Harrison has been in have just been a waste of his talent, but this seems like a very good beginning that might survive a few rounds. President Jonathan Hayes (Greg Harrison) has constant bodyguards around him and his daughter, but still a militia team of terrorists try to kill him at some party, but he is saved by the brave agent Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway), but her boss agent Daley (I know I've seen him before. He looks like the guy from an Australian soap opera called Neighbours...Jim Robinson or something)well he isn't pleased about her work or on how she saved the president. When Jess,(Monica Keena) the president's 16 year old daughter is tired of having agents around all the time and with limited chances of acting out her teenage issues he decides to let her go on some outdoor adventure thing with a friend, a few kids and 3 agents including Alex, but she isn't fond of Alex since she thinks Alex likes her widower dad. The terrorists, who tried to kill the president are also ironically in Montana at the same time and they kidnap Jess in order to get their leader back. With the help of Grant (Doug Savant), who is a guide Alex decides to go rescue Jess. Now i really liked this movie especially Doug Savant, he was really good in this. Thank god he left Melrose Place he was getting dragged down there, but this movie and the future sequel to it will no doubt be great.
this was one story that really did not need to be told
emilycoco16 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
There are so many movies in this world about the first daughter, and considering how few people in the world can relate to the very particular experiences of that group of people, this addition to this 'first family' film genre is just unnecessary. This was a combination of all of those random generic first daughter films and the mid-90's Meryl Streep wild-water-rafting film "The River Wild".
Aside from the various yawning plot holes (how could two people avoid being blown to bits just by jumping really fast out of the cabin; why did the freedom fighter not pull out his gun BEFORE they started rafting into that white water near the end; why wasn't the forest swarming with secret service agents to avoid just such a chase), the whole movie felt contrived and boring. Ultimately, this was one story that really did not need to be told.
Aside from the various yawning plot holes (how could two people avoid being blown to bits just by jumping really fast out of the cabin; why did the freedom fighter not pull out his gun BEFORE they started rafting into that white water near the end; why wasn't the forest swarming with secret service agents to avoid just such a chase), the whole movie felt contrived and boring. Ultimately, this was one story that really did not need to be told.
nearly chewed off all my nails from the suspense
disdressed1229 May 2010
this may be a for a made for TV movie,but it's actually very good,better than many made for TV productions.sure there a few moments of predictability,but nothing that actually affects the plot in any significant way.the movie really zips along.it's about 94 minutes long but it doesn't seem like it at all.the acting here is really good,in my opinion,as is the direction.it's very economical.there's not a lot of wasted material.and there are some real nail biting moments.and the very last scene is an absolute riot,in a good way.all in all,this was pretty exciting stuff.but it sure makes me glad my Dad isn't the President.for me,First Daughter is a solid 8/10
Pretty bad
matthewhannaford18 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Seeing this on TV in the early afternoon should of warned me of what to come but being in the mood for a film I decided to give it a watch. From the start it is obviously low budget, in one scene where they are escaping from a hut they have triggered an explosion in they somehow get from in the middle of the hut to quite a way in front of the hut with a dive out of the explosion which is frankly ridiculous as it is A)Impossible and B) if they did somehow manage to get that far out of the hut the explosion would probably not knock them over in the fashion.
Another example is when they are rafting down some quite frankly massive rapids which probably would not be survivable then suddenly turn into tiny rapids and they are all fine.
Other than this it was a pretty predictable film, a good watch if you do not actually want to need to follow the plot but would not recommend it otherwise.
Another example is when they are rafting down some quite frankly massive rapids which probably would not be survivable then suddenly turn into tiny rapids and they are all fine.
Other than this it was a pretty predictable film, a good watch if you do not actually want to need to follow the plot but would not recommend it otherwise.
Strange Locations
Petticoats9 August 2003
The film was quite good but what strange locational settings have been selected for this movie. I watched with great interest as location after location that I am familiar with appeared on my screen. You see I have walked across the very bridge that is used for the final climatic scenes. (Maldon Bridge on the southern outskirts of Sydney)It's in a lonely valley and is a very rickety unstable structure that crosses a virtually dry creek bed. Ah the magic of the movies. To see the bridge blown up and have it crossing a far more substantial river. Kind of weird. Great Movie, but if you are a Sydneysider the realism may be spoiled.
bad bad bad
shoopi-224 April 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This one is really horrible..... don't watch it...the acting,plot,is so lame and everything made me laugh especially the bad guys....very unbelievable, the scene where Alex gets out of the Mine trap with the other guy is utter nonsense.....if you feel like watching a movie with some of your friends just to make fun of this crap then this is the movie you should watch... Alex is actually shot in the chest..but you know what she makes it thanks to her motorolla which was in her pocket.....wow....i could go on forever like this..i decided to watch the movie just to see how it would end and warn others from this ...2 out of 10 just for her looks
MARIEL HEMINGWAY IS A FANTASTIC ACTRESS!
whpratt111 July 2003
Enjoyed Mariel Hemingway(Alex McGregor) who was assigned to protect the President's daughter, her performance and acting skills exploded in every scene. In many of the scenes she performed her own stunts in many of the wood scenes and in the river rafts. I am proud to see Mariel Hemingway over come her many difficult mental problems and not follow in her sister's footsteps where they both appeared in "Lipstick". Mariel Hemingway is living up to the great talents of the Hemingway family and her grandfather, Ernest! Mariel(Alex) has a great magical talent, that made this picture a great future Classic for the Hemingway Family!
The best TV movie ever!
Lil' Z17 August 1999
First Daughter is easily the best TV movie ever made. I know it's definitelly the best one I've ever seen. Monica Keena and Mariel Hemmingway did an absolutely fantastic job. I give it two thumbs up and five stars. If you didn't see it you really missed a great movie.
Taking into consideration that it is a low budget movie. It's pretty good.
Angelus222 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The President's daughter wants to have a 'normal' life, so the President appoints his number one agent Alex McGregor in charge of watching her. But coincidently some terrorists visit the same place who despise the President and decide to kidnap his daughter.
Now first off, it is not the greatest script, the dialogue is very cheesy and the storyline has been done over and over again. But as I watched this movie on a random afternoon with nothing to do, I found myself rather enjoying this movie as Alex McGregor went after the kidnappers...Some recognisable faces appear along the way, Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) Alan Dale (OC, Lost) Diamond Dallas Page (WCW) and Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives).
First Daughter is quite funny at times with Doug and Mariel playing off each other wonderfully as the romance blossoms between the two in the most disastrous of situations. Due to the budget constraints the film could not be as lavish as one would hope, but still it is rather enjoyable and is perhaps greater than some of the more expensive movies that are constantly churned by the film industry.
Now first off, it is not the greatest script, the dialogue is very cheesy and the storyline has been done over and over again. But as I watched this movie on a random afternoon with nothing to do, I found myself rather enjoying this movie as Alex McGregor went after the kidnappers...Some recognisable faces appear along the way, Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) Alan Dale (OC, Lost) Diamond Dallas Page (WCW) and Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives).
First Daughter is quite funny at times with Doug and Mariel playing off each other wonderfully as the romance blossoms between the two in the most disastrous of situations. Due to the budget constraints the film could not be as lavish as one would hope, but still it is rather enjoyable and is perhaps greater than some of the more expensive movies that are constantly churned by the film industry.
Quality thriller; moves a mile a minute!
Mads-219 June 1999
A fun thrill-ride, First Daughter will probably make the networks envious of TBS. Action-packed, good performances throughout, notably by Mariel Hemingway, and Australian actors Dominic Purcell (a future Mel Gibson?) and Alan Dale.
"Chilling"
grampa-316 August 1999
The movie First Daughter was an excellent movie. It was chilling and thrilling. And it was exciting because you would never know what was going to happen. This movie is a really good movie. I give this movie 10 Stars **********
good movie
lia000278 October 2002
Good movie I like Alex, she is the type of woman who would not lose with any situation. Beside the story is made us tense which is missing in many movies now. The story it just not about lover, but about how to fight in the jungle to save president's daughter.
This turkey goes down river!
yenlo16 August 1999
Whoa what a turkey this made for TV yarn is! Horrible acting chiefly by Mariel Hemingway who is completely unconvincing as a secret service agent. It's so bad the viewer can basically figure out what is going to happen scene to scene. If the films "Guarding Tess" "In The Line of Fire" "Deliverance" and "Meatballs" were to be spliced together this would be the result. A couple of good spots with the whitewater rafting and that's about it.
Pleasant Mariel Hemingway vehicle, but keep expectations in check.
TxMike4 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Mariel Hemingway is Secret Service agent Alex McGregor, guarding the President (Gregory Harrison). As the movie opens we see an assassination attempt, Alex does something out of protocol, the president is OK, but she is in the doghouse, and gets assigned to accompany the President's daughter, Jess (Monica Keena) on an outbound trip into the Montana wilderness. Doug Savant plays Grant Coleman, the civilian leader of the outbound trip, and predictably he and Alex create friction. Then the bad guys show up. It would be hard to say that this is a good movie, but it is pleasant enough light entertainment.
SPOILERS FOLLOW. Right before the outbound trip starts, FBI agents raid a hideout in the Bitteroot wilderness, arrest the leader of the assassination attempt, but several of his men get away. By chance, they happen upon the outbound trip and recognize the daughter, Jess. They quickly hatch a plan to capture Jess and use her as ransom to get their leader back. Alex becomes the key player to foil the bad guys and protect Jess. At the showdown, the good guys end up in white water on a raft, then jump off a precipice into deep water. In a fight Grant gets knocked out and, face down in water, almost dies but Alex brings him back with CPR. Most of the bad guys are killed, the others arrested. Mariel Hemingway, at 37, looked very good in a wet tank top.
Back in D.C., Alex finds out that indeed, if she had not breached protocol, had not gotten the President out of the armored limo, the second missile would have likely killed the President. Her instinct saved him.
It was good seeing Doug Savant again, an underrated actor. I met him when we were both in the 1998 TV movie, "A Face To Kill For."
SPOILERS FOLLOW. Right before the outbound trip starts, FBI agents raid a hideout in the Bitteroot wilderness, arrest the leader of the assassination attempt, but several of his men get away. By chance, they happen upon the outbound trip and recognize the daughter, Jess. They quickly hatch a plan to capture Jess and use her as ransom to get their leader back. Alex becomes the key player to foil the bad guys and protect Jess. At the showdown, the good guys end up in white water on a raft, then jump off a precipice into deep water. In a fight Grant gets knocked out and, face down in water, almost dies but Alex brings him back with CPR. Most of the bad guys are killed, the others arrested. Mariel Hemingway, at 37, looked very good in a wet tank top.
Back in D.C., Alex finds out that indeed, if she had not breached protocol, had not gotten the President out of the armored limo, the second missile would have likely killed the President. Her instinct saved him.
It was good seeing Doug Savant again, an underrated actor. I met him when we were both in the 1998 TV movie, "A Face To Kill For."
Accents!
Glenn_in_Japan9 September 2003
For once, a TV movie with Aussies pretending to be Americans, instead of the more common reverse. Americans trying to sound like Aussies always sound lame.
But for once WE were the lame ones! Yay!
As an Aussie, I found this movie great, just for the accents. The plot was not bad for a made-for-TV, and the acting was OK. But the best bit was listening to the "American" characters whose accents would slip from Yank to Oz and back to Yank in the same sentence... especially one of the President's Generals, played by the dad from "Hey Dad!" (one of the funniest shows in Oz TV history)
But for once WE were the lame ones! Yay!
As an Aussie, I found this movie great, just for the accents. The plot was not bad for a made-for-TV, and the acting was OK. But the best bit was listening to the "American" characters whose accents would slip from Yank to Oz and back to Yank in the same sentence... especially one of the President's Generals, played by the dad from "Hey Dad!" (one of the funniest shows in Oz TV history)
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
