Shoot to Kill

Nice to see Poitier back and full of pep, albeit in a routine thriller. It begins promisingly with the owner of a jewellery store helping himself to the gems, getting busted, and breaking down to explain that he needs them because his wife is being held hostage by a homicidal maniac. Presiding FBI agent Stantin (Poitier) is outsmarted at every turn, and the hostage is killed. Vengefully, Poitier follows the trail up into the remote mountains on the Canadian border, a city cop comically out of water. The killer hijacks a fishing party, and makes off with the good scout girlfriend (Alley) of the trail guide Knox (Berenger). Knox and Stantin reluctantly team up, and earn each other's respect over daunting terrain in the usual way. All the clichés clock in, characterisation is cardboard, but the locations are stunning.