Warning Shot

Lots of tension!! Unconfortable but very entertaining!!

This screenplay was a mess. Boring and unnecessary dialog that will leave you shaking your head. Who cares about water rights? Why did the one guy want to be a Dr. Phil and psychoanalyze the mother with "who cares" questions? How many times do we need to correct "gun" to "rifle"? Was this supposed to be humor?

Novice writer Breanne Mattson should just stick to short films, or at least needed to edit this down to 65-70 mins, not the 90 mins that felt like 120.

There was no real plot to this film, just a bunch of useless conversations with poorly acted "thrilling scenes" which I'm guessing novice director Dustin Fairbanks' inexperience failed to direct his actors.

David Spade wasn't bad for a serious role, but Tammy Blanchard and little Onata Aprile nailed their roles. James Earl Jones and Bruce Dern's small roles were decent but nothing extraordinary.

You'll probably want to pass on this film, as the trailer was way more exciting and pretty much is the entire film. Otherwise be prepared to fall asleep from boredom.

A generous 4/10 from me for the only 5-10 mins of good tension and the gals' acting.

Mercifully it is only 87 minutes long.

Poorly written, poorly directed, unevenly acted, and generally implausible despite being based on a true story, the movie is alternately painful to watch, boring, and insulting to the viewer.

There are a few decent performances. Bruce Dern, James Earle Jones, and one or two others are OK, and Onata Aprile as the little girl did a very good job. Beyond that the acting is shallow and weak. In a movie with almost no story where people are being senselessly terrorized the viewer needs some depth of meaning or character to make the terror watchable. None here.

The movie doesn't ring true, as if the creators are from another planet and have no real sense of how people actually behave. The movie did inspire me to learn about the actual case in order to try to understand what may have actually happened.

The movie makers repeatedly commit two unforgivable sins too often found in action and horror films. One, when given the chance to thwart the aggressors and gain control the victims are inept. Lacking imagination, the movie makers simply hope the viewer will not notice.

Second, villains and criminals, even dumb ones, generally act in a way that will minimize the possible consequences of their actions and achieve their goals with the least risk and effort. Not here.

The ending was slightly satisfying, so I added an additional star to my rating.

"Warning Shot" 2018 is a halfway decent movie, but it's very cookie cutter. It's just another ordinary hostage movie, with a couple details rearranged. There is a lot of dialogue in this movie; it's pretty much nothing but talking. It feels like you're just spinnin' the wheels. There's barely a story at all. // This may be the first time I've ever seen David Spade in a serious role, and he kinda surprises me. James Earl Jones must be 110 now, and he's still great, as always. // The Bushwacker 10/25/2021.

Kind of expected funny from David Spade but not disappointed ! he is rather talented ,,, James Earl Jones always in Fine form and the rest of the cast worked together nicely kept me interested definite watch and yes I would watch it again !