Shoot

This hard to find drama about two hunting parties that decide to wage war on each other after a party member is killed from a previous encounter, seems at first promising, but after a ponderous snail-paced middle act, patchy characters and a somewhat unbelievable story to begin with, 'Shoot' begins to lose it's credibility with each slow moving scene.

Despite a half decent cast of it's day, the likes of Ernest Borgnine and Henry Silva have little to do, the pale script seemingly stretched just a little too thin for the film's running time, in fact the film seems a lot more suited to TV of which director Harvey Hart is more accustomed to. Cliff Robertson admittedly pulls off a hard driven performance as the unhinged Major Rex, however his character's actions do seem a little unbelievable and unintentionally funny at times as do the escalating events that lead the hunting party into more conflict.

Though an interesting premise, that could be easily mistaken for a John Woo plot if there ever was one, 'Shoot' suffers the most by it's shallow unlikeable characters and it's slow yet meticulous build up to the final bitter act, which when finally surfacing leaves the viewer feeling undeniably shortchanged.

This film was well hyped when released, with trailers and ads talking about the power and efficiency of the Ingram sub-machinegun, what happens when hunting trips go wrong, and revenge. The movie only lived up to the hype in the first, and last scenes, but the concept is still sound. This is a story that could be remade, or explored in a new film.

The story starts out with a great set-up when a group of friends (very good actors - Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine, Henry Silva) venture out hunting in the Canadian wilderness. The story shifts when they encounter a "rival" group of hunters in the distance. After an accident of sorts, both sides retreat. When no one reports the accident from the other side, ex-military Major Cliff Robertson becomes convinced the other guys are plotting against them. Great set-up so far.

Here is where the film bogs down, way bogs down. It's like they had about fifteen minutes of information, and spread it out over the next hour giving us unnecessary details on character development, and wordy dialog that didn't properly explore the ethics of the hunter's situation and dilemmas. By the time the climax approaches you're almost asleep wondering what the heck too so long. However, when the final scenes finally do arrive and the story picks up steam again, it commands attention and will not leave you disappointed.

If you get a chance to see this movie, pay close attention to the beginning, don't worry about popcorn or potty breaks during the middle, and wake up for the ending.

As of August of 2006, you're going to have to look for this on Cable TV, or Ebay, as the VHS is long out of print, and the film hasn't be released on DVD, which is too bad considering all the junk that is out there.

With Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine, and Henry Silva on board, I was expecting a lot more than "Shoot" delivered. Character development is virtually nil, and Silva's part could easily been played by a no name actor. Sandwitched between the opening ambush and the final shootout in the snow, is some filler that has no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the movie. A chatty widow and a friend's wife throwing themselves at Cliff Robertson feels like nothing more than script stretching. "Shoot"'s similarity to "Rituals" and "Hunter's Blood", two other "Deliverance" clones is unmistakable, but they are far superior movies. A BIG letdown. - MERK

I honestly never intent to touch upon political themes in my film reviews, but I can't help establishing that some of the main topics in this 42-year-old movie are still incredibly relevant today. For you see, I'm writing this review just a few days after another terribly catastrophic mass shooting took place in an American high school (Parkland, Florida on Valentine's Day 2018) and naturally the debates regarding the controversial 2nd Amendment are held across the internet. These same socially sensitive debates are also already featuring in Harvey Hart's 1976 film "Shoot" and it remains a disturbingly realistic and uncomfortable sight to see how a man, with access to a nearly unlimited weapon arsenal, grows increasingly paranoid and bloodthirsty.

The film, adapted from a novel by Douglas Fairbairn that I would love to read, has a very simple but effective premise. Six middle-aged small-town buddies, former Vietnam veterans, meet on an ordinary Sunday morning to go hunting. They're strolling through the woods and make jokes, and then they spot another hunting party across a river. They first stare at each other when, suddenly and for no apparent reason, someone in the other group fires a shot in their direction. Wild gunfire ensues in which Zeke (Henry Silva) kills a hunter on the other side. When the group is back home, they are debating whether to report the incident to the authorities and they are quite astonished to learn that the other party didn't report it either. Rex, the self-declared leader of the pack, becomes more and more convinced that the other group is preparing a bloody retaliation and urges his pals to surprise them first.

Many of my fellow reviewers are giving a lot rating to "Shoot" because of its slow pacing and uneventful middle-section. It's undeniably true that the screenplay contains too many dull and overly talkative sequences, but the uncanny atmosphere remains throughout and the macho male performances keep you glued to the screen. Even during the slow middle section there are a few extremely powerful and memorable scenes, like when Rex visits the dead hunter's widow or when Ernest Borgnine gives his solid friendship speech at the meeting. The finale is vintage 70s survivalist/warfare spectacle. "Shoot" is not quite playing in the same league as "Deliverance" or "Southern Comfort", but it's nevertheless a highly recommended drama/thriller.

I'm watching "Three Days Of The Condor" right now and started thinking about a movie I saw long ago called "Shoot". A very interesting story line that could today be much better, The Shooting in the woods with the hunters is classic,(happens even today), the ending about all the home boys going back to finish, is great. But the hour in between this movie is lost. What is this crap about having to use 10 lines!!! The movie does not deserve ten lines!! OK i'm going for ten lines or I do not no what the Hec I'm doing!.

Just a Thought

Andy