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

Shoot To Kill (also known as Deadly Pursuit) is notable for signalling the cinematic return of Sydney Poitier, who was absent for a little while preceding this one. It's also a knockout thriller featuring a genuinely frightening antagonist, gorgeous pacific northwest wilderness cinematography, and a taut, well drawn plot. Poitier plays FBI agent Warren Stantin, who tracks a heinous jewel thieving murderer from the big city out to a rural patch. Then, the criminal disappears into the mountains, disguising himself in plain sight amongst a group of hikers touring the wilderness. Stantin enlists the help of rugged outdoorsman Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger), whose girlfriend (Kirstie Alley) happens to be leading the hikers with the killer in their midst. And so the two embark on a bicker laden trip into the vast mountain ranges to track the party, before the killer starts turning on them. Berenger's belligerent, anti social demeanour towards Poitier provides amusing camaraderie as they both discover that between the survival know how and the criminal profiling, they both need each other. There's solid work from Richard Masur, Andrew Robinson and Clancy Brown as well. It's all shot in the British Columbia area as well and we get to see some truly stunning photography, including an end sequence not only filmed but actually set in Vancouver (lol its adorable that Americans think the seabus is a huge ferry). A lean, mean thriller with a lot of natural beauty to behold, and a cast that elevates that slightly generic narrative into a flick that holds our attention with its resolve and cunning thrills.

One of the great 80's action/adventure epics; a pleasant surprise I never expected to be so well put together because the only other films by the director I had seen were "The 6th Day" and "Tomorrow Never Dies", which were nothing to write home about. Poitier and Berenger play well of one another, and Poitier in particular has rarely ever been funnier from what I can recall. This was his big comeback after not appearing in a film since "A Piece of the Action", which came out all the way back in '77. Thankfully, he chose the right material to come back with and make him relevant again. This is a skillfully crafted and carefully paced thriller with plenty of suspense to keep you on your toes, especially in the first half hour or so, which plays like a much darker version of Poitier's Sergeant Tibbs flicks. The way it starts off almost brutally dark and transitions into a sort of buddy comedy works better than one might expect. The action was well shot, the photography was solid, and overall, I'd say any big action fan, old or young, owes it to themselves to check out this gem. I know I had a total blast with it.

The idea behind this film was a good one. Too bad it wasn't written well. Casting Sidney Poitier as the FBI agent was a good idea, and he did an outstanding job. Tom Berenger, on the other hand, only knows one emotion in most of his movies, anger. Kirstie Alley's character could have been a great one, and even showed some possibilities once, but the writer really let us down by making her role mostly a helpless female. This was completely inconsistent with the strongly independent character she was supposed to be. I don't care for Alley's acting anyway. The movie should have ended about fifteen minutes sooner than it did. The director milked the cow dry before the unbelievable final action. I will keep this in my collection only as an example of Poitier's performances.