Hot Target (1985)

People are voting emotionally.

Memorable, crazy movie

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Hot Target is one of those utterly generic and vague titles that could be applied to a plethora of films, most likely a late 80's effort starring Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. So it doesn't really give you much of a clue of what to expect in advance of watching it. When you press play and are then presented with the familiar logo of Crown International Pictures, it would only be fair to say that most will be anticipating a cheap action movie that will be too low budget to even afford Chuck Norris, far less Segal or Van Damme. So, it turns out to be something of a surprise to discover that this one turns out to be a Kiwi erotic thriller. There aren't too many New Zealand set films out there and it's certainly atypical territory for a Crown International release.Its story focuses on a woman who is unhappily married to a rich businessman. She starts an affair with a stranger she meets by chance one day in a public park. It soon turns out that this stranger has engineered this encounter and has nefarious plans in mind. This film seems to have garnered mostly negative criticism if the reviews here are anything to go by. But I have to say that I found this to be one of the better Crown International 80's efforts. I think the unusual Kiwi setting certainly added a nice unexpected dimension, while the acting and plot line were overall pretty decent. It's no hidden classic of course but it's a good deal better than anything called Hard Target has any right to be.

As has been noted, this is part of a Crown International series, almost all of which contain the same scenes of nudity and lovemaking, all surrounded by ho hum plots. Those were the USA offerings. "Hot Target" is a New Zealand offering starring absolutely stunning Simone Griffeth, an American lass now, with her husband, selling expensive real estate in South Carolina. And, she is a damn good actress. Those love scenes could, and should have been, more abbreviated and it would have appealed to a more general audience - well - not the Pixar enthusiasts. Anyway, all the palaver about the plot is a lot of horseradish. It was easy to understand, the story tight and taut. The acting by all involved was first class. Steve Marachuk, the only other American in the cast, was excellent as the cad. All involved turned in excellent performances. Anyway, ignore the naysayers and, if you can get hold of this, grab it. I guarantee it will keep you involved for at least 92 of its 93 minutes.

I'm not sure what this film is completely about. The film has a woman getting some much need spice and romance in her life after meeting a 'nice" man only to find that there is something else on his mind. The trouble is that the film seems to be more interested in the sex than it is in the plot. It might have been me but this film seemed to spend too much time watching bodies entwine and talking about things that really aren't necessary to plot for any real interest to be maintained. Don't get me wrong I don't mind watching pretty people in an erotic thriller do their stuff, but don't tell me its a thriller when the plot only seems to kick in until the last half hour or so. For my money this is little more than a soft-core romance wannabe. Probably slightly better than the 3 out of 10 I've rated it but that still isn't a reason to see it. Take a pass.

Wealthy and lovely, but bored and dissatisfied American Christine Webber (nicely played by gorgeous blonde knockout Simone Griffith of "Death Race 2000" fame) feels trapped in a stale and unhappy marriage to cold, ruthless New Zealand businessman Clive Webber (an effectively callous and obnoxious portrayal by Bryan Marshall). Christine receives some much-needed excitement in her life when she meets and gets seduced by suave professional thief Greg Stanford (a fine and charismatic performance by the hunky Steve Marachuk), who plans on breaking into Webber's house so he can steal all their valuables. Writer/director Dennis C. Lewiston relates the compelling story at a steady pace, doesn't skimp on either the tasty female nudity and steamy soft-core sex (the luscious Griffith looks absolutely delectable in her birthday suit and sweats quite fetchingly during her lusty love scenes), and delivers a few nifty twists in the film's last third after Greg's plans go disastrously awry. Griffith and Marachuk display a strong and engaging chemistry as the attractive and appealing leads, with sound support from Marshall (who makes for a perfectly hateful jerk), Peter McCauley as the determined, no-nonsense Detective Inspector Nolan, John I. Watson as Clive's loyal bodyguard Benjamin, and Renee Johansen as Christine's adorable daughter Sandy. Both Alec Mills' crisp cinematography and Gil Melle's supremely funky'n'jazzy score are up to snuff. An enjoyable movie.