Blue Steel

A psycho killer scribes Jamie Lee Curtis' name onto the brass shells of some cartridges, loads them into his big revolver, then blows away strangers in a park. Detectives find the empty shells, so investigate JLC. Never mind that revolvers don't eject shells as semi-auto pistols do. Never mind that detectives would have known that the shells had been planted deliberately. Never mind that people don't write their names on cartridges. Correcting this film's technical inaccuracies would destroy its whole plot. Could the reason behind such silliness be a profound misunderstanding of the phrase, "a bullet with your name on it?"

I remember first seeing "Blue Steel" on HBO when I was a little kid. My dad made me turn it off because it was too violent (I think it after the scene where Ron Silver kills a prostitute and rubs her bloody sweater all over his naked body). Needless to say, that is one of the few memorable moments in this otherwise dull psycho thriller. The plot is standard creep-stalks-vulnerable-woman-through-the-streets-of-New York fare. In this case, the stalkee is a rookie cop played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and the psycho is Wall Street commodities trader Ron Silver.

The flick has a few things going for it: slick direction by Kathryn Bigelow, who would go on to direct better movies than this one; some decent action scenes; moody lighting and cinematography, and an eerie synth score by Brad Fiedel. Put simply, I really do like the aesthetic of "Blue Steel." Pretty much everything else is abysmal, though. The script is terrible, the pacing is extremely awkward, and it struggles to hold any kind of tension. It starts off fairly well but then devolves into a series of endless scenes in which the psycho killer appears at random, disappears, is arrested and/or injured, disappears, reappears, etc. The first half is actually pretty good, as we see the Wall Street psycho lose his grip on reality and start a murder spree, all the while hearing voices telling him he is god. Unfortunately, the film becomes less interesting and more predictable as the minutes tick by.

Jamie Lee Curtis is one of Hollywood's more diverse actresses-- from being heralded the "Scream Queen" for such films as HALLOWEEN and THE FOG, to comedic genius in A FISH CALLED WANDA and TRUE LIES. Her portrayal of a rookie cop who becomes the target of an obsessed stalker (Ron Silver) after her first assignment on the force solidifies her acting abilities and film repertoire. Ron Silver plays the Wall-Street-broker-turned-psychopath flawlessly.

BLUE STEEL is a cop flick with a twist which, unlike many films in the genre, showcases a lead female's descent through the police force. Amir M. Mokri's encompassing and somber cinematography, Brad Fiedel's ambient and chilling musical score, and Kathryn Bigelow's cool, detached direction, combined with the excellent cast which also includes Louise Fletcher, Clancy Brown, and Elizabeth Peña, makes for a unique, entertaining, and esthetically pleasing film!

I agree with the reviewer prior to me. I am actually taking a film class at my college and we brought up the same points the last reviewer did.

It wasn't the best coherent film I seen.

The fact that the killer "mysteriously" knew where the protagonist was all the time and also knew all about her parents and friends was pretty absurd.

Not to sound redundant, but I agree that a little more info on the history of the murderer would have helped the audience when it came to perceiving and understanding the movie.

In the other side, when it comes to suspense I guess the movie is okay. If you're the type of person that doesn't care about how coherent a plot is and just like to see action, then you will like this film.

I am A huge fan of Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red. I loved "THE HITCHER" (the OG one), "NEAR DARK", and "BODY PARTS". Who cares if there are parts that make you go, "Oh, yeah right, that doesn't really happen to a cop". It is a horror flick, it is designed as a horror flick, not a psychological Morgan Freeman cop thriller. If you can humor a story about Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, and Killer Toy Dolls, then you can bite into a well made story about a wall street slasher running crazy in the city that uses a GUN instead of a Hook, Claw, Chainsaw, Axe, or whatever tickles you fancy. It is a Scary Movie, nothing more. Like "The Hitcher", the antagonist gets worse and worse and in the end it is a classic Goodguy-vs-Monster battle. Jamie is fantastic, Ron is superb, as always and so is Clancy Brown. A special appearance by Tom Sizmore also makes this movie a cool collector's item.

Many people confuse this movie as a cop suspense thriller and have passed judgment too harshly throughout the years. Most of Kathryn's and Eric's early movies are designed to scare you with the story itself than by using Scary Camera Tricks. It's an old flick, so don't expect any CGI. Many people simply judged it by looking at it as a psychological cop thriller. Don't go out like that. It is an authentic, original, stand-on-its-own, scary movie like "THE HITCHER" and "BODY PARTS". Watch it again as a Horror and you will know what I'm talking about. Be nice. Don't give in to hate. It leads to the Darkside.

Get off the Band Wagon and Enjoy it for what it is. Just watch it and pretend you're living in the 90's for Pete's Sake