Shoot To Kill
release year: 1988
genre: action
viewing setting: home DVD 1/16/22 and 10/31/15 and VHS, 7/14/02
synopsis: FBI agent chases killer into wilderness, recruits mountain man to help; mountain man's girlfriend is the killer's hostage.
impressions: Tight mix of suspense, action, and wilderness adventure. My synopsis up there describes the major chunk of the movie; there is a setup piece at the beginning and a chase at the end, but by and large this is a wilderness buddy-buddy movie. It's got good acting, quite a bit of suspense, and some nice scenery. Most reviews of it spoil a major plot point, but I won't do that here; just don't read any other reviews before watching the movie.
Rober Ebert doesn't pay attention alert: Roger wonders in his review why the culprit fled cross-country. Obviously he wasn't paying attention to the plot point about how the FBI was blocking all roads out of the country. Again, beware the spoilers in his review - he tells you right away who plays the bad guy.
acting: Tom Berenger is the mountain man, and he does a great job. Kirstie Alley is his girlfriend who is forced to guide the killer to supposed freedom on the far side of the mountains. Sidney Poitier also does a good job as the city-slicker FBI guy, but I did have a fundamental problem with his character in that he WAS wrong, he WAS helpless in the wilderness and should never have tried to go along.
final word: Worth seeing for good action/suspense with a wilderness-survival twist.
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