Instinct to Kill

"Instinct to Kill" sticks a handful of B-listers in a journeyman production B-flick and lays down a hackneyed storyline which has nothing new to offer. A crime/action/drama, this flick has many deficits including bad acting and direction, gaping plotholes, predictability, obvious cost-cutting, ordinary fight sequences, etc. Pretty much a waste of time, "Instinct to Kill" makes a marginal watch even for the most macho-minded couch potato. (C-)

I recently watched "INSTINCT TO KILL" for the very first time... B-List cast? Poleeeeeez...GIVE ME A BREAK! The cast, directing, storyline, and all other movie-making essentials were SUPERB- PERIOD!

Given the choice to view the CRITICALLY acclaimed movies "Titanic", "Star Wars", "Austin Powers" and "Harry Potter" (consecutively and for free), or PAY to see "INSTINCT TO KILL", I'd pay to see the latter EVERYDAY of the week! HONESTLY!

By-the-way, in America's educational system we're taught A's are better than B's. Keeping this (nationally accepted 'Institution for Higher Learning' fact) in mind, why on earth are "INSTINCT TO KILL"'s cast members B-Labeled?, while the cast members of the other aforementioned movies are A-Labeled?

PLEASE! Give me "INSTINCT TO KILL"'s (UNDULY B-Labeled) cast and you can keep your (SO CALLED) A-List wannabes!

I watched the movie thinking, hmmm Mark Dacoscos, I liked him in Drive from 1996, so maybe this wont be bad, WRONG!!!!! This movie is a 100% "B" movie, and a B- at that.. I seen everything coming an hour before it occured; this story has been done to death a millions times. Every actor has a stinker now & then, this is Dacoscos stinker!!! I give it a 2.1 out of 10, pretty bad!

Instinct to Kill 2001

If you are just looking for an action flick with a few good fight scenes, some pretty ladies and a basic plot this movie is for you. The fight scenes are realistic for the most part. The action keeps the movie going more than the semi-plausible plot. The weakest part of the movie is how foolish and inept the cops are portrayed. Most notably, the detective in charge of the task force, Lance. The bad guy is out to kill his wife and her mother and her best friend, but for some reason revenge on his ex-partner that busted him isn't part of the plan. That seems kind of inconsistent to me. Secondly, there is one scene where Missy's character and the good guy go after the serial killer husband on their own, without the police or any back up. I got the impression that scene was just to fill in time for the movie and have another action sequence. There is another scene that is totally implausible but I don't want to include any spoilers in this. You will see it if you watch the movie. Missy Crider is her normal good actress self but she doesn't show any skin in this one. The only nude scene is a brief sexual encounter with Missy's husband (the character in the movie that is) and her best friend. As a movie for simple escapism and fun I would recommend this movie to those who enjoy the genre. My rating, given the generally low caliber of cast: 7 out of 10.

Where to start with this movie? How about with the DVD packaging. The back of the box claims the movie is from the director of "Commando" and "Firestarter". Well, that's technically true, but the individual in question (Mark L. Lester) just PRODUCED this movie, not actually directing it. The packaging also puts Mark Dacasco up front and center with a gun, suggesting (along with the title) that this movie is filled with action. While there are some action sequences, there aren't as many as you'd think. The story actually concerns Dacasco helping a woman fend off her psychotic ex-husband, and Dacasco's character isn't as prominent in the movie as you may imagine. But there are a lot more problems than the ones I just described. This is a really low budget movie, which results in shoddy cinematography, sometimes poorly recorded audio, and some real cheesy production values. But even a higher budget would have still resulted in a screenplay which has some really laughable plot turns and actions by the characters. If there had been some more, I might have recommended this movie as an unintentional comedy, but as it is, kill any thought of watching it. By the way, if you are thinking of renting the movie because it reunites the two stars of the cult hit "Drive", know that Kadeem Hardison doesn't have that much screen time and only shares two brief scenes with Dacascos.