Shoot to Kill (1988)

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Starring Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Clancy Brown, Kirstie Alley, Richard Masur, Andrew Robinson, Frederick Coffin, Ken Camroux, Samuel Hiona. [R]

After an eleven year absence in front of the movie camera, Poitier stars as an FBI agent determined to capture a kidnapper and killer who previously eluded him; once he learns that his foe is traveling through the mountains in northern Washington with an unknowing hiking party led by guide Alley, he seeks out the grudging assistance of park ranger Berenger, who’d rather be going it alone. Standard buddy action formula is exploited—a wilderness expert and a city slicker—though they never achieve a memorable rapport; the villain is just the usual psycho, while Alley emotes about as much here as she did when playing a Vulcan in Star Trek II. Saved from the rubbish heap by good scenery, shipshape direction, and a few memorable scenes, such as Berenger swinging into a rock face and the surprisingly brutal escalation once the killer’s identity is revealed, but there are too many plot holes and lapses in credibility to take this thriller seriously. Also doesn’t know when to quit, depriving viewers of the wilderness standoff it all-but-promises by carrying on with a car chase, ferry shootout, etc. Released in the UK under the equally-generic title of Deadly Pursuit.

57/100