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Shoot to Kill
When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox. It's a turbulent yet vital relationship they must maintain in order to survive... and one that becomes increasingly desperate when Knox's girlfriend Sarah becomes the killer's latest hostage!
Release : | 1988 |
Rating : | 6.8 |
Studio : | Silver Screen Partners III, Century Park Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Sidney Poitier Tom Berenger Kirstie Alley Clancy Brown Richard Masur |
Genre : | Drama Action Thriller Crime |
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Shoot To Kill (also known as Deadly Pursuit) is notable for signalling the cinematic return of Sydney Poitier, who was absent for a little while preceding this one. It's also a knockout thriller featuring a genuinely frightening antagonist, gorgeous pacific northwest wilderness cinematography, and a taut, well drawn plot. Poitier plays FBI agent Warren Stantin, who tracks a heinous jewel thieving murderer from the big city out to a rural patch. Then, the criminal disappears into the mountains, disguising himself in plain sight amongst a group of hikers touring the wilderness. Stantin enlists the help of rugged outdoorsman Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger), whose girlfriend (Kirstie Alley) happens to be leading the hikers with the killer in their midst. And so the two embark on a bicker laden trip into the vast mountain ranges to track the party, before the killer starts turning on them. Berenger's belligerent, anti social demeanour towards Poitier provides amusing camaraderie as they both discover that between the survival know how and the criminal profiling, they both need each other. There's solid work from Richard Masur, Andrew Robinson and Clancy Brown as well. It's all shot in the British Columbia area as well and we get to see some truly stunning photography, including an end sequence not only filmed but actually set in Vancouver (lol its adorable that Americans think the seabus is a huge ferry). A lean, mean thriller with a lot of natural beauty to behold, and a cast that elevates that slightly generic narrative into a flick that holds our attention with its resolve and cunning thrills.
The first 16 minutes of this brilliant chase movie are so intense that it's hard to imagine that what follows could be anything but an anti-climax. The fact that it isn't comes as quite a surprise and testifies to the sheer quality of this highly entertaining adventure thriller. With its combination of well executed stunts, chases and action sequences as well as suspense, humour and stunning locations, it's perfectly understandable why "Shoot To Kill" (aka "Deadly Pursuit") achieved so much critical and commercial success at the time of its release and also why it still remains so enjoyable to watch many years later.After a San Francisco jeweller breaks into his own store in the middle of the night and removes a collection of diamonds, the FBI discover that his wife is being held hostage and that the diamonds are the ransom that the kidnapper has demanded. Tense negotiations follow but eventually the kidnapper escapes with the diamonds after shooting the jeweller's wife and housemaid. Experienced FBI agent Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier), who'd been in charge of the negotiations, blames himself for what happened and so becomes determined to hunt down the mysterious killer.The killer's trail leads to Washington State where it becomes clear that he'd killed a tourist and using his victim's identity, had joined a small group of men who'd set off on a fishing trip. Their trek across some exceptionally hazardous mountains and woods was being led by a local guide called Sarah Renell (Kirstie Alley) and Stantin quickly recognises that the only way he'll be able to continue his mission will be to have his own guide and the obvious choice for the role is Sarah's boyfriend and skilled mountain guide, Jon Knox (Tom Berenger). Knox is a surly tough-guy who only accepts the job very reluctantly because he doubts the ability of the older city-dweller to cope with the conditions or keep up the pace needed to have a reasonable chance of rescuing Sarah from the attentions of the dangerous psychopath.Predictably, Stantin and Knox's partnership becomes very strained on their journey as they're confronted with some very dangerous situations such as having to cross an incredibly deep gorge in a rope-bridge basket, climbing up sheer rock faces and having to set up camp in deep snow. The climax to the men's journey comes when they arrive at Vancouver, where the killer had gone to meet a diamond broker (who's a fence) and also where they find that the dynamic between them changes dramatically.Sidney Poitier is exceptional in his role as a man who's very professional and determined in his work and also copes well with a whole series of challenges. Similarly, Tom Berenger is well cast as the rugged guide who learns during the journey that both men possess different strengths and is also surprised when ultimately, they develop a good deal of mutual respect."Shoot To Kill" is well-directed with the required levels of tension, humour and pace being perfectly balanced to guarantee the best results and the cinematography is magnificent throughout.
After 24 years of missed chances, I finally got to see Shoot to Kill on YouTube. Having previously spent the last 10 years directing only, Sidney Poitier was back on screen doing this mostly excellent thriller as his FBI character pursues a diamond thief and killer through the Canadian mountains with cabin dweller Tom Berenger in tow as he's trying to save the villain's potential next victim: Berenger's girlfriend Kirstie Alley. While there are many exciting chases, there's also some good humorous sequences too like those concerning Poitier's attempt to mount a horse or his encounter with a moose or his and Berenger's close call with a bear. This was as good a comeback for the man known for playing Mr. Tibbs, so on that note, Shoot to Kill is highly recommended. P.S. Berenger is another I'd like to cite as a native of my birthtown of Chicago, Ill.
With a great leading actor, a good supporting cast, and director Roger Spottiswoode (Turner & Hooch, Tomorrow Never Dies) involved, I thought, I can't see anything that would be bad about. Basically a man has stolen diamonds from his own jewellery shop, and then the man finds out a mad mad demands the diamonds in exchange for his kidnapped wife. The mad man manages to escape, but FBI agent Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) with wilderness experienced and skilled Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger) as he runs through the Northern American forest. In this forest is a group of hikers, including Knox's girlfriend Sarah Renell (Kirstie Alley), Norman (Richard Masur), Harvey (Hellraiser's Andrew Robinson), and the revealed diamond thief, Steve (Clancy Brown). Also starring Kevin Scannell as Ben, Frederick Coffin as Ralph, Michael MacRae as Fournier, Robert Lesser as Agent Minelli, Les Lannom as Sheriff Dave Arnett, Frank C. Turner as Austin Crilley and Walter Marsh as Sam Baker. Poitier is a good lead, and Brown is a not too bad villain, I think it is the scaling outdoor sequences involving vast forest, rigid rocks and rushing rivers that are most watchable about this quite alright action thriller. Worth watching!