Shoot to Kill – Review

A car whips through city streets late at night, then screeches to a stop. A man dressed in sleeping attire zips out and runs to disable an alarm and open a door. He goes inside Berger and Van Doonen Fine Gems. Stakes are apparently high already, as he grabs piles of diamonds.

Later, FBI agent Warren Stantin (Poitier) arrives at the scene. Mr. Berger is still on scene, in his pajamas. He proclaims it’s his store, and his diamonds!! He wants to leave right now. What is going on?!

As the plot starts heating up, things get much darker and more sinister immediately… Guns are drawn and there is a hunt for a possible madman. Violence is in the air and dastardly deeds are done. Suspense ratchets up, and we are only a few minutes in, setting the stage for confrontations to come.

After a tense face off with a dangerous killer, Stantin has been scarred by the event. But wait, there’s more, as this was only the beginning! Agents are rounded up and a task force is formed. Stantin has a gut feeling about how easy it was for this mystery psycho to do what he did. As legal forces scramble to hunt for this criminal, it pushes the killer deep into the surrounding Washington State mountainside. Will the G-men find their target, or will the wilderness present too much of a challenge?

Shoot to Kill is a pretty good setup and murky cop chase thriller. Poitier is a great lead, but he is paired with some decent support players in Berenger and Alley who deliver enhancing performances. Poitier and Berenger have a solid chemistry when the film gets going and deliver decent buddy type investigation during a tense and scary hunt. The plot setup may not be anything special or surprising, but that doesn’t mean the film is easy to anticipate or a purely basic time.

The mountainous forest of the Pacific Northwest is a fine setting also for a murder-y type thriller ride adventure. A pretty decent script holds things in line mostly and keeps tensions elevated while even delivering a bit of mystery, that is if you don’t know the cast that well.

The pacing is pretty good, and while it’s a touch 80s in its presentation, I like the film overall and it could translate just fine to a modern setting without much changing story wise. With satisfying performances holding down the well-balanced script, Shoot to Kill is worth a watch.

“Ain’t no elevators out there mister. No cable cars, no buses, no damn taxi cabs. So why don’t you settle your ass at the motel, and I’ll do what I do best.”

This film is sometimes also known as “Deadly Pursuit.”