Roger Spottiswoode directs Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger and Kirstie Alley in this action thriller where an FBI agent tracks an evil kidnapper into the wilderness.

Also known as Deadly Pursuits. Tonally all over the shop. Grim kidnap thriller becomes light hearted buddy cop movie becomes rousing on-location extreme adventure flick becomes whodunnit and then all the way back again. Any single one of those modes would work fine, not that I mind the buffet approach. Poitier is at his best when he is a silly fish-out-of-water, the movie thrills the few times it lurches forward, skips the rails and goes really nasty. These unpredictable spikes really make it perfect throwback, throwaway VHS fodder. See, for example, the ultimate reveal of the killer. Most plots would happily spin out teasing you as to which of the half dozen character actors could be the nemesis. Andrew Robinson, Clancy Brown, Richard Masur… it could be any of these brutes. Let’s just say the true villain doesn’t fuck about picking them off one-by-one when he shows his true colours.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Sneakers (1992)

My wife and I do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/