Deadly Pursuit (DVD)

...this maniac…

Deadly Pursuit is a typical 80’s action movie that I had never heard of until a few days ago when it was showing on BBC1 late one night and decided that as I had nothing better to do I would sit down and watch it. Not expecting a lot from it, the only way was up for this film as I was expecting to turn it off half way through due to boredom. I’ve never really been a fan of 80’s action films as most of them are absolutely ...
...The Terminator), unfortunately Deadly Pursuit (also known as Shoot To Kill) doesn’t live up to two of the best known films of all time but it certainly didn’t have me dying of boredom either which in my eyes makes it a relative success.

Deadly pursuit begins well and keeps the audience guessing, with the opening sequence in the jewellery store and the suspicious man that takes the film in a completely different direction, the opening ... more

When Detective Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) turns up at a jewellery store where a man appears to be stealing rare and expensive diamonds, the experienced detective puts the case down to an open and shut burglary. However when the robber turns out to be the owner of the store things take a dramatic turn for the worst where two people end up dead and a dangerous man on the loose.

After tracking down the killer to the rugged and remote woods of Washington, Warren is forced to pick up a mountaineering expert in the form of Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger) who reluctantly agrees to guide the detective through the mountains in search of the killer who has now joined a hunters group lead by Knox’s girlfriend Sarah (Kirstie Alley). When Sarah becomes in increasingly more danger the chase is on to catch this maniac…

Deadly Pursuit is a typical 80’s action movie that I had never heard of until a few days ago when it was showing on BBC1 late one night and decided that as I had nothing better to do I would sit down and watch it. Not expecting a lot from it, the only way was up for this film as I was expecting to turn it off half way through due to boredom. I’ve never really been a fan of 80’s action films as most of them are absolutely dreadful, of course there are a few exceptions (Die Hard, The Terminator), unfortunately Deadly Pursuit (also known as Shoot To Kill) doesn’t live up to two of the best known films of all time but it certainly didn’t have me dying of boredom either which in my eyes makes it a relative success.

Deadly pursuit begins well and keeps the audience guessing, with the opening sequence in the jewellery store and the suspicious man that takes the film in a completely different direction, the opening scenes had me hooked and are very tense. After the jewellery store scene we’re taken to a house in the dark where there are two people being held hostage. The opening sequence is extremely astute for an action film and manages to successfully cross the precarious line between action and thriller. It’s a good job the opening sequence was good because from there on the film seems to deteriorate.

Subsequent to the opening sequence the film dwindles a little and loses the edge which it originally obtained, for the majority of the film we’re following Warren and Jonathon on their trek through the mountains, this doesn’t give the film much of a chance for action and it became similar to an inferior version of Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger. I feel that the film began to drag a little and although you’re still watching intently because of the great opening it seems that you’re sat with baited breath waiting for something to happen and it never does.

The killer isn’t revealed until half way through the film, we know that someone in the hunting party will turn out to be the killer but of course we have no idea who it will be. The film throws up numerous red herrings along the way with things that the men say which in Hollywood makes them liable to have psychopathic tendencies, of course in the real world you’d just class them as a little strange! Even though we don’t know who the killer is until he reveals himself to us I still found the film a little predictable, all the men were very similar looking and you knew for a fact that one of them (there were about 5) was going to be the killer and because they all look strikingly similar with their big 80’s hair cuts it inevitably made it no shock to the audience when the killer reveals himself because you are unable to tell each man apart from the other.

The fact that you have a woman guiding the men gives the film another predictable twist. It almost seems a little purposeful that you have trouble distinguishing one man from the other because it draws your attention away from them and onto Sarah, played by Kirstie Alley. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out who is going to play an prominent part in the story and which characters are ultimately disposable.

The acting was proficient enough for an 80’s action film, I had only heard of Sidney Poitier before but never seen him in a film, infact before the film I actually though he was a woman! He was the highlight of the film and reminded me a bit of Samuel L. Jackson with his black empowering comments throughout the film. He brought a lot of much needed comedy to the film to fill the void left by the lack of action. There was a lot of chemistry between him and Knox and they made a great onscreen partnership as you see their friendship develop throughout the duration of the film. Kirstie Alley provided us with a competent damsel in distress for the men to rescue but I feel that her part could have been portrayed by any actress as there was nothing original that she brought to the table. For some reason she constantly reminded me of Sarah Connor from The Terminator films because of the silly haircut she has!

The film does warm up towards the end as the chase comes to a head but I feel that the end chase scenes are very generic and they are something that I’ve seen a million times over in typical American action movies. Deadly Pursuit is an enjoyable film to an extent but it’s not something I can see myself watching again.

The DVD is currently available from play.com for £3.99. 

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