Striking Distance (1993)

Sadly Over-hyped

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Captivating movie !

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"Striking Distance" held some promise in the opening police chase; illogical by car chase standards, but certainly not sleepy. But I've gotta admit, with Rowdy Herrington's name attached, I was expecting (hoping for) entertainment value comparable to "Road House" . . . not the morose Bruce Willis dramatic actioner filled with reheated potboiler clichés. You can see these beats coming before they happen. The movie's also full of notable character actors, but they don't look all that enthused to be there.The movie's nothing special, but also nothing to get upset about. Somehow, the knowledge that this was made during the Peters-Guber reign at Columbia clarifies a lot. This feels like a troubled production.5/10

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.

Tom Hardy is a fifth-generation cop. When his father dies during the chase of a serial killer, Hardy further complicates matters by implicating his partner and cousin Jimmy in a police brutality case. Two years after Jimmy is believed to have committed suicide, women from Hardy's past start to turn up dead, and his father's alleged killer is found. Believing that the alleged killer is a patsy, Hardy conducts his own illegal investigation into his father's own death, and the women's deaths as well. Hardy and the killer ultimately lock horns in a showdown that ties all the loose ends on both case.It's pretty formulaic stuff for Willis, during the time I like to refer to as his 'chubby era'. He had a pretty bad run of films between 93 to 95, and was finally broke by DHWAV in the summer of 95.It's fun stuff though while it lasts, Cop turns alcoholic, argues a lot with Farina and James, and the killer turns up at the end, but isn't surprising as his name is pretty high up on the credits at the beginning.Parker is fine, but if her character was cut out of the story, it wouldn't damage the narrative.If your a Willis fine, it's a good movie with no surprises.

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!