Well, this movie's a pleasant surprise; pretty much on every front. "Shoot to Kill" is a taut thriller to to bottom, but I think what sets this apart from other buddy movies is that it crosses genres. It's not just two disparate men on a dangerous mission, but there's also a manhunt and a wilderness movie thrown in for good measure. Still, Poitier and Berenger have a solid chemistry, and their road to mutual acceptance is a rocky one. It's a good cast throughout with a charming Kirstie Alley (to be fair, I haven't (yet) seen "Cheers" and I only really know her as a Vulcan). NIce scenery, too; I got a real "First Blood" feeling with that Pacific Northwest locale. I'm not sure why I hadn't heard of this movie until today, but either way, it's great.7/10

***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.

A slick and efficient wilderness thriller utilising a few great actors to strong effect, DEADLY PURSUIT is one of my favourite crime films of the 1980s. The story is simplicity in itself, a classic odd-couple pairing as inner-city FBI agent Sidney Poitier is forced to team up with a survivalist type to track down a ruthless murderer. This is the type of film that you don't really watch for the intricacies of the storyline, as it's kept very simple and straightforward, but to enjoy great outdoor photography, a sharp script and commanding performances.Poitier returned from a decade-long break from acting for his role here, and he couldn't have picked a better part: he plays a commendable guy, extremely hard-bitten and intelligent and yet not without humour too – witness the very funny scenes involving a moose and a horse. Tom Berenger, in comparison, is taciturn and unfriendly and watching the two butt heads makes for a lot of fun.As the villain of the piece, Clancy Brown gives a towering performance that builds on his breakout part as the Kurgan in HIGHLANDER. He's hulking and frightening, a vicious psychopath who leaves a trail of bodies in his wake and doesn't think twice about bumping off defenceless old women. It's truly an intimidating turn, delivered in classic Brown style, and adds to the film immeasurably. Kirstie Alley is thrown into the mix to equalise the gender balance a little and doesn't have a lot to work with, but to be fair the film isn't about her.For a thriller, there are plenty of suspense scenes, some of them truly nail-biting – witness the set-piece involving the cable car. Okay, so the film does lose points slightly for moving away from the wilderness locations for the climax – it would have done a lot better by staying in the mountains – but such things are merely minor detractions and don't spoil the flow too much. This no-frills adventure/thriller hybrid is right on the money.

"Shoot To Kill" is a movie that's just always walking tightrope above a swamp of grey mediocrity but never falls in. The plot is completely generic, but at least there's one interesting element to it: finding out the identity of the killer. It's not handled all that well, you don't exactly get to puzzle it together, but it does keep you interested for a while. The actors are mostly chosen from the boring half of the B-list (Kirstie Alley, Tom Berenger, sigh), but at least they had the decency to put them in the shadow of the great Sidney Poitier. Even the misplaced comedy scenes make sense when he's around, what a screen presence. The best part of this movie is inarguably the part that takes place in the woods, which is lucky because that's more than half of the movie. Why do they ever leave anyway, how do you make a movie with scenery this great end around a freakin' harbour? "Shoot To Kill" is flawed at best, but it did entertain me I guess.