Striking Distance (1993)

the audience applauded

Just perfect...

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I'm not going to say it's original, because it isn't. I'm not going to say it's unpredictable, because it isn't. I am going to say that it was enjoyable.Sure the whole maverick, womanising cop with a bit of an alcohol problem thing is fairly worn out, but still, it works. Truth be told I actually guessed who the killer was before the end- it was a little obvious. The only real shock was when it was revealed that Sarah Jessica Parker was actually working undercover to 'spy on' Bruce Willis (there was certainly a lot to spy on in some scenes, if you know what I'm saying). I did say that it wasn't very original. It is in fact stereotypical Bruce Willis. At the same time, however, there is a certain timelessness to stereotypical Bruce Willis films. The one-liners never get annoying, the action is never not exciting, the swearing is never nonexistent and the nudity is always manageable but yet somewhat awkward for a teenager such as myself. It was well-acted, well-shot and a perfectly enjoyable action film.

RELEASED IN 1993 and written/directed by Rowdy Herrington, "Striking Distance" stars Bruce Willis as Tom Hardy, a Pittsburgh detective who's demoted to river rescue. A serial killer returns after a two-year absence and bodies of beautiful women start turning up in the river, all women whom Hardy used to date! Sarah Jessica Parker is on hand as Hardy's partner on the river, Jo Christman.The movie has a bad reputation. Roger Ebert tore it to pieces, basically saying it was too derivative and by-the-numbers, and Willis himself said he hated it. I can understand criticism to a point. The story has a melodramatic comic-book vibe, which is obvious in the opening act, almost like a TV production except with a superior cast and action scenes. But, and this is an important "but," I found myself drawn into the story & the characters and greatly enjoyed the rare Pittsburgh locations, as well as the (melo)drama and thrills. In other words, the movie is entertaining and entertainment is the name of the game.This is a cop thriller in the manner of the Dirty Harry series, especially "The Dead Pool" (1988), except it's more comic booky and taking place in Pittsburgh rather than San Francisco. It's also reminiscent of films like "The General's Daughter" (1999). Although not technically as good as the Dirty Harry movies or "The General's Daughter" due to its cartoonish-ness, "Striking Distance" nevertheless pulled me into the lives of the characters and, for the most part, furnished the requisite thrills.The generically-named movie (also akin to the Dirty Harry franchise) was originally called "Three Rivers," a much better title simply because it's more specific, but was changed at the last minute because the marketing department feared people would think it was a sports movie due to Three Rivers Stadium, so they switched it to "Striking Distance." Why "Striking Distance"? The first hint is at the beginning of the movie when the title card shows two electrical bolts coming out from either side of the title. Later we observe the mysterious killer using a stun gun before killing his victims and, with a stun gun, you must of course be within... striking distance!Speaking of the killer, one element of the plot I haven't mentioned is that this is a whodunit. Someone is charged with being the killer early on but Hardy knows it's the wrong guy; he and others are sure it's a cop or ex-cop doing the killings. There are a few suspects, including Hardy himself, but I honestly was unable to guess the right person. There's another twist late in the story that also took me by surprise."Striking Distance" may not be exceptional and is marred by cartoonish exaggeration, but it entertains as a cop thriller and that's what's most important when it comes to these types of flicks. Plus it was shot in Pittsburgh, a refreshing change.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 42 minutes. ADDITIONAL WRITER: Martin Kaplan.GRADE: C+/B-

Thank goodness Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker have good chemistry because they are not allowed any time for a relationship to develop. In a blink they are smack-dab in a romance. But this police thriller has some funky, operatic and over-the-top moments that show the plot's weaknesses. The clichés keep piling up from the bad-mouthing, trash- talking banter between "Irish" and "Italian" cops, to the endless profanity, and the staginess of the big scenes. It's also pretty violent. Bruce Willis is almost always a good action hero. Sarah Jessica Parker knows how to do the girl part perfectly. Their scenes have real chemistry. Dennis Farina is always a great cop and he manages to keep you fascinated even when his sons are acting perfectly ridiculous. John Mahoney, Andre Braugher and Timothy Busfield show their talent and professionalism and are captured before bigger roles made them major TV stars. I did find Braugher chewing up the scenery a bit too lustily in the hearing scene. I save Robert Pastorelli's utterly hammy appearance for last. He's a fine actor and I loved his classically funny house painter, Eldin on Murphy Brown. But he's assigned the psycho role here and the screenplay doesn't give him any depth at all. He's just an insane psychopath. There's not a clue as to why he behaves as he does. Maybe the director should have stepped in more to tone it down. The final confrontation with Willis steals from every thriller you've ever seen, most obviously Fatal Attraction. And it goes on forever. Rerun on TV it was fun to encounter this movie, which I had not seen when it was first released.

I had heard the title and who starred in somewhere, I am pretty sure it was from seeing the DVD cover, I guess I watched it just to see some reasonable action fun with the two lead stars I knew. Basically Det. Tom Hardy (Bruce Willis) comes from a generation of cops, and he is devastated when his father Vince (John Mahoney) dies during the chase of a serial killer, and after he gets himself in an argument with his partner and cousin Det. Jimmy Detillo (Robert Pastorelli). Two years later Tom is working as part of the river rescue police, but is pulled back into action with new partner Jo Christman (Sarah Jessica Parker) when possibly the same killer, nicknamed the Polish Hill strangler, is on the loose again. The victims seem to be women that Tom knew, making him a prime suspect, and no-one apart from maybe Jo believes it is the same killer from the past, and he will have to find the right clues to prove his innocence. Keeping an eye on him is Capt. Nick Detillo (Dennis Farina), an acquaintance from two years ago, and Tom and Jo and do come across some small clues, it is obvious that they are slowly falling for each other. Eventually when trapped, Tom finally gets the truth from Nick, that Jimmy was the killer, he has been copycatting the crimes, and he was the one who killed his father, but in the end of course the guilty are caught and the good guys go back to the better life. Also starring Tom Sizemore as Det. Danny Detillo, Brion James as Det. Eddie Eiler, Timothy Busfield as Tony Sacco and Poseidon's Andre Braugher as Dist. Atty. Frank Morris. The acting was a little flat in parts, and they could have been a few more explosive and gun filled chase and action sequences, I will admit as well I didn't exactly pay the fullest attention while watching, but I guess as a cop looking for a serial killer story is is okay, an alright crime thriller. Worth watching!