Myriam Nys
Although the movie is set in a contemporary setting, it is basically a traditional Western in a classical vein. A callous criminal commits a crime and tries to escape by crossing the border, even if this means travelling through the wilderness and shooting inoffensive citizens ; a grizzled old sheriff is determined to catch the miscreant and bring him to justice, if necessary with the aid of some unwilling instant-deputies or guides. What follows is a long pursuit, where the brave sheriff and his helpers need to overcome both natural perils and the evil cunning of the criminal. "Shoot to kill" is quite entertaining, with good acting, ingenious stunts (watch out for the Bridge from Hell) and ravishing scenery. I get the impression that it has been largely forgotten - undeservedly so, since it is well worth watching. Sadly there is a hugely illogical plot twist, or plot evolution, which undermines the internal coherence of the story. This illogical twist occurs 4/5ths into the movie and influences the ending. You'll notice it when you see it...
kapelusznik18
***SPOILERS*** After a ten year absence Sidney Poitier is back in front of the cameras as big time FBI Agent Warren Stantin with a new pair of thermal underwear as he searches in the great American North-West not for "Bigfoot" but for a killer whom he let escape or slip out of his fingers after a kidnap murderer back in San Francisco. In what looks like a re-make of the 1958 film the "Defient Ones" but as good guys and not being handcuffed together Poitier as Agent Stantin and his partner rugged mountain man Jonathon Knox played by a very fit and in tip top shape, for what's expected of him in the movie,Tom Berenger are out looking for an escaped murderer and kidnapper Steve-no last name given in the credits-played by Clancy Brown who hooked up with a group of people out to climb the mountains and enjoy the wonders of nature.With the movie being filmed in the politically correct 1980's the fact that Stantin is black as well as the boss and Knox is white and a bit of a redneck race was almost totally absent in the two mens relationships but replaced with Stantin being a big time city FBI man and Knox being an almost hermit like mountain or country boy. This caused a lot of tension between the two who earned each others respect by saving each others lives by the time the movie ended.****SPOILERS**** After Steve murderer all the hikers he was with he took their guide Sarah Rennell, Christie Alley, not just hostage but to help him find his way to Canada where he plans to spend the some $3,000,000.00 in diamonds that he stole back in SF. As we soon found out Sarah is Knox's girlfriend that makes his tracking down Steve a very personal matter. The movie end up in Vancouver Canada with both our hero's after getting a shave shower and new clean set of clothes, the old ones stunk like hell, finally tracking down the elusive Steve that results in a wild car chase as well as shoot out on a ferry that ends almost at the bottom of Vancouver Bay. With Knox again saving, for the second time, Stantin life who was about to go under for the third time.
NateWatchesCoolMovies
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.
elshikh4
There is one sure truth about movies, not only that they last forever, but also that our memories last with it. Therefore, whatever how many years passed by; when you watch a certain movie, you recall all of your happy, or unhappy, memories which are connected with the first watching' time, with all of its thoughts and feelings.As for (Shoot to Kill), I was 21 year old when I first watched it. Back then, I've just ended my fourth and final year in faculty of arts, waiting for the result of my exams, exactly like my friend (he was my neighbor too) who was waiting for his result as well, but at the faculty of law. Both of us were movies' freaks, and maybe you'll understand how crazy we were when I tell you that we raced once to finish watching all the movies in one video store near our homes !! I remember that he saw more horror movies than I did, but I surpassed in watching the action and the musical ones. Anyway, it was the glorious glory's days, we were watching movies through our national TV like (Hot To Trot), (Romancing The Stone), (Other People Money); there were all good, so at the theaters too like (X Files "The Film"); although we were disappointed with it, but we were having each other, and ready to watch more movies, better or worse. Through the VHS, we enjoyed a lot of nice ones, and how we got our own dictionary out of the movies' dialogue; to hang a phone call saying (I'll Be Back !) from (The Terminator), or to end a hot conversation peacefully (Opinions are like asses, everybody got one !) from (The Dead Pool), or to be naughty sometimes (Hubba Hubba !) from (Payback) and so on.. On 14/7/1999, I watched (Contact) by (Robert Zemeckis), and my friend just finished (Shoot To Kill), so we recommended every one's movie to each other, to discuss it later, as usual, in our discussion zone : The Gym !I went to read its cover to discover that it's an action thriller that got (Sidney Poitier) as the lead, and (Roger Spottiswoode) as a director, so I rented it enthusiastically. And when I watched it, I just fell in love with it. (Shoot to Kill) was sharp, so solid and more beautiful than most of the above. It's the good old school at its best, and that's ladies and gentlemen my favorite kind of action, not the awful grisly comic books graphic novels video games kind of pace, violence and idiocy (YES, Sin City, Sin Movies !). I see that this good movie got it all. Firstly, the fine screenplay. It's fine because it cared about making good action thriller time with no flaws at all, and – in the same time – showed the comparison of 2 clever men and how everyone, in his own world and by his environment's rules, is a real hero. Actually, it said that the work of any police officer in the city is as hard as the mountain climber's work in the woods. Or that the world is one giant jungle, therefore you must know how to survive, but everyone by their special talents. Look how the magnificent (Poitier) acts so clumsy in the forest, with many wicked details and witty expressions, while (Berenger) was the MAN. But then in the city, it's totally the opposite, where (Poitier) was the master of his civilized yet the same brutal jungle, and (Berenger) turned into the naive one who discovered finally the truth about (Poitier) to tell him during the car chase "You're Crazy!".Furthermore, that strong music, that wonderful cinematography, and that perfect editing; remember the armlet's scene in the beginning; that was unforgettable piece of work as a lesson in how to build a thrill in one short scene. And, naturally, the proficient direction. This movie delivers greatly, particularly in the last 15 minutes; I simply adore this climatic sequence.I loved it to the extent that I watched it for a second time right after the first one immediately. You can find it in my list for the best 100 non-Egyptian movies ever. And it's still an enjoyment to watch that one from the 1980s, thanks mainly to the iconic presence of (Poitier) as an action star here (try to believe that this graceful elegant was 61 years old at the time !!). I didn't find till now an explanation for his 11 years of absence as a movie star from 1977 to 1988 ?! But whatever, he came back to make (Little Nikita – 1988) and (Shoot To Kill – 1988) and really what a huge difference between them both; as one is half good and one is too good ! (I wrote a review about Little Nikita on its IMDb page). So after watching the movie, on the title's date, I remember so joyfully that in the next afternoon I met my friend in the very zone of us, and when I asked him smiling "You FBI guys do this kind of s**t a lot ?" I had him and me answering in the same time imitating Poitier : "Every Damn Day !". Although it's a line which maybe we've heard in other movies or even TV shows before, but when it has Poitier's performance.. It becomes CLASSIC.
