Shoot to Kill

Deadly Pursuit certainly has it's fair share of problems, but as an entertaining little action thriller; it stands up well to criticism, as while some of the dialogue, situations and character drawings don't exactly ring true; the film moves quickly and director Roger Spottiswoode does a good job of ensuring that the film is easy viewing and never becomes boring. Deadly Pursuit is something of a film of two halves; it starts off as a gritty cop thriller, and then mutates into a survivalist themed chase movie. The plot is fairly standard at first, as we witness a man being caught robbing a diamond store. The plot thickens when, after some interrogation from the arresting officers, it turns out that the thief actually owns the store! We then learn that he's stealing the diamonds to pay a kidnapper for the release of his wife. FBI agent Warren Stantin manages to chase the kidnapper down, but he gets away with the diamonds and flees into a forest near Canada; thus meaning that Agent Stantin must chase the killer into the woods, with the help of a rugged local who knows the area.

The film does have a number of problems - sometimes, for example, it seems to just jump from one scene to the next without much in the way of a connection. This does keep things moving, but the film can feel a bit disjointed because of it. Still, the plot flows fairly well and enough different angles are created to keep things interesting. The film features a decent cast, headed up by Sidney Poitier. Poitier's character changes a lot through the film, and while the actor sometimes looks a bit silly, he does seem to manage this well. He is joined by Tom Berenger, who also gives a decent performance in his role, while the rest of the cast is filled out by the likes of Clancy Brown, Kirstie Alley and Andrew Robinson. Perhaps the best thing about this movie is the fact that we don't know who the killer is for so long, which builds suspense - and mystery, and the film also carries off a nice twist little twist with the choice of actors surrounding the killer. Overall, I can't really say that Deadly Pursuit is one of the best films of its type - but it's certainly a very good thriller and I recommend watching it!

I haven't watched this since I was 15 years old in 1990 and I liked it then and 30 odd years later it's still a good watch. Much better than action/thrillers being made these days.

Well, this movie's a pleasant surprise; pretty much on every front. "Shoot to Kill" is a taut thriller to to bottom, but I think what sets this apart from other buddy movies is that it crosses genres. It's not just two disparate men on a dangerous mission, but there's also a manhunt and a wilderness movie thrown in for good measure. Still, Poitier and Berenger have a solid chemistry, and their road to mutual acceptance is a rocky one. It's a good cast throughout with a charming Kirstie Alley (to be fair, I haven't (yet) seen "Cheers" and I only really know her as a Vulcan). NIce scenery, too; I got a real "First Blood" feeling with that Pacific Northwest locale. I'm not sure why I hadn't heard of this movie until today, but either way, it's great.

7/10

After an eleven year absence from the screen, Sidney Poitier chose to return in an action/adventure film where he plays an FBI agent in search of a killer.

He's got good reason to want this guy bad. His quarry is ruthless and kills without mercy. Poitier loses a hostage and the ransom he's asked for. But some good detective work has traced the man to a remote part of the Pacific Northwest.

Where the perpetrator has killed again and joined a party of dry fly fishermen being guided by Kirstie Alley into the rugged mountains. No place for a city kid like Poitier, says mountaineer/hermit Tom Berenger who has the prerequisite skills to get the job done. These two are forced into an alliance of inconvenience.

The best thing I liked about Shoot To Kill is the guessing game we play for the identity of the perpetrator. Any one of the five men in Kirstie Alley's party could have been the killer. Look at the cast list and you'll recognize a few names who've played some pretty loathsome villains in the past. The identity is revealed suddenly and quite shockingly.

What I didn't like with Shoot To Kill is the fact that the final confrontation with the perpetrator is in big city Vancouver where he's escaped with Alley. He needed her in the woods, not any longer, she should have wound up dead. And Berenger and Poitier should have confronted him in the woods.

That script decision made the climax a rather ordinary one that you see in a whole lot of police chase films. Still all the players do fine here, my favorite being Kirstie Alley as the woods smart guide.

It think whoever wrote the script for this movie had the first half all planned out, but then didn't know where to go afterwards. The first 40 minutes or so is riveting, one of the greatest openings to a film you'll ever likely to see because it keeps you guessing, there's decoys thrown in and it throws up one big question, which one of the fishermen is the bad guy? I guessed wrong. Once his identity is revealed it all becomes a bit stock standard, other users have said that the bad guy question was answered too soon and i tend too agree, another 20 minutes or so would've helped, the fishermen tour is a fun part of the movie.

Despite it's slight decline in power at this point the directing and cinematography remain first class. The characters are believable, realistic, give good feedback and are easy to relate to. Character development in Shoot to Kill isn't matched by many others, simply first class. The script is laugh out loud witty at times and Poitier and Berenger gel well, but the acting does have it's poorer moments, as does the script. A couple of plot holes don't help. But look past some minor flaws and the movie is great, the curiously catchy soundtrack adds to the movies feel, and the scenery is documentary spectacular and also gives a good sense of it's intimidation. Definitely a must watch for thriller fans. Everyone I've shown it too loved it, and everyone I know who's seen it loved it. Highly underrated, yet highly enjoyable.