Customer Reviews

Boiling Point [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is not a fast paced movie. It does have an interesting story of a cop tracking down the murderer of his partner. Well paced and good performances by Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Viggo Mortenesen, Seymour Cassel, and the rest the cast. The settings are good and the music is decent. I hadn't seen this in years but I bought it thinking it was a murder mystery. I wasn't quite right but it was certainly worth seeing.

No gimmicks, no explosions and no sentimetal lovey-dubby stuff just your average standard good guy vs.bad guy story with some sharp dialouge and some good shots of the l.a landscape. I don't understand all the negativity this film recieves it's a great film Wesley snipes plays a federal agent out for revenge agaisnt a small time crook and his vicious sidekick after his partner is killed in a undercover drug sting. The movie plays with style and character delvelopment, providing snipes with some of his best acting of his carrer. Dennis Hopper is his usual swarmy self playing a pathetic crook out to make his last score. Virgio Mortesson plays Ronnie, Hopper's crazy sidekick who just loves viloence his best scene was where after he shoots a guy in the face after ripping him off he runs him over with his car during his escape. This film is more toned down than "Passenger 57" but the previous lacked the common sense and the utter realism this film portrays. James B. Harris who made another good cop thriller starring James Woods called "COP" I think he even did a better job here. Casting Wesley Snipes in the role was a smart move he made this film more watchable with his flare for profanity and his well dressed manor was quite convincing as a FBI agent who has reached his "BOLING POINT" The title may not blend when seeing this film but who cares about the title? it's the film that counts and it's a great film at that.

I quite like this unpretentious film noir. It's not the best script in the world, and Wesley Snipes plays a wooden stereotype, but the acting of the two bad guys carries the film. Dennis Hopper has never given a better performance and Viggo Mortensen's handsome, easygoing killer is quite disturbing. The charm of this film revolves around these two conmen. Their self-deceptive patter, Hopper's frequent refrain of "...and that's no lie!", Mortensen's extreme violence forgotten within seconds, the down-at-heel diners, the live band at the Palace dance hall, Hopper's dancing with a wryly amused hooker, the pathos of his long suffering girlfriend left standing alone outside in her blue dress as he's driven away by Snipes at the end... all somehow add up to more than the individual parts.

I'm here because like an earlier reviewer I was blown away by the Big Band music and have been trying to find out who performed it. There is no soundtrack available and the band and singers don't seem to be credited anywhere. If anyone can cast any light I'd be most grateful.

the hollywood professionals as usual got it wrong. excellent film. down to earth, easy to see how people get themselves caught up in trying to live.

Director: John B. Harris
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Lolita Davidovich, Viggo Mortensen, Seymour Cassel, Jonathan Banks, Christine Elise, Tony Lo Bianco, Dan Hedaya.
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rated R for langauge and violence.

"Boiling Point is too pithy to be a successful thriller; too low profile to be a successful action caper. If the plot had thrown more twists, offered more insight on the characters psyche, or had a much more involving story, the film could have sufficed even as a decent thriller. Had there been explosives, chase scenes, and other good action ploys, this movie could've made a decent action film; however, it is not much of either category, thus suffering from mediocrity. Police detective, Jimmy Mercer (Wesley Snipes) and his partner, Brady (Dan Hedaya), are investigating the shooting death of an undercover U.S. Treasury agent who investigating a counterfeit ring. The two guys who he was dealing with, gunned him down and fled the scene, before Mercer and Brady could intervene and save their partner. Turns out the murderers are fast-talking Red Diamond (Dennis Hopper), so named because of his red hair, who owes fifty grand to another gangster within seven days and his partner, Ronnie (Viggo Mortensen), an eerie kind of guy who is never sure if Red is just handing him a line of garbage with all the schemes he involves him in. In order to make it through the next week alive, these two crooks need a get rich quick counterfeit scheme.

Meanwhile, Mercer and Brady are going from one informant to another, trying to get them to give up information about Red and Ronnie, a description, their location, anything. Sometimes they're successful and sometimes not. The movie goes on and on like as the two trail one person after another trying to get close on the trail of Red and Ronnie. It is wholly uninteresting, offering no real suspense and even less action to fill the time. The movie fails to deliver any real substance in between, which is sad when you consider the possibility of your characters, and especially, the potential of the actors. At points this is an enjoyable cop thriller but for the majority it is a misjudged affair that lacks either an emotionally involving depth or a fast paced tension that holds you. The problem is that it cannot decide which of these it wants to do and it is not good enough to manage to both in the way. Snipes does try hard but he can't get a human face that we buy into, specifically his "running away with hooker" thing is just laughably unconvincing. Hopper seems to be in another film and enjoys just wining and dining women but he only serves to slow the film down and distract from the main thread. Mortensen plays a standard role but does it pretty well, likewise Davidovich does well with what little she has. Support from familiar faces such as Cassel, Banks and Gleason all give the impression of a film deep in quality but sadly this is only an impression. Overall, this is a fairly poor film that tried to be better than the genre but failed to achieve its goals. In a plot that resembles the later "Heat", the threads don't work, with no emotional involvement in the characters and no thrills or tension to really speak of. The cast deserved better and so do the audience; there are several cop thrillers that try the same thing as Boiling Point, it would be to your advantage to watch one of the ones that actually does it well.

..... does anybody know something about the Music in this Movie?? The BigBand sounds are incredible but I've now idea where to get a soundtrack ( nothing seems available )or at least who's performing the music !!??

This film is much like a 1940's film noir. This is not one of Wesley Snipes best. I found the dialogue to be unbelievable. The story is slow moving, which does the film no favors. It winds up to be a disappointing venture for Snipes & Dennis Hopper, who was wasted in his role.

The film is standard for action films. It is the standard plots without a twist or turn of any type in sight. Add canned behavior and canned speeches and you have.. Boiling Point. I am still trying to figure out how they got that title. There is NOTHING boiling in this not even a time limit.

Bad guys try to earn some money. Cops cause problems. Waitress who loves the guy and says goes away but has a heart of gold [make her a hooker and it will really be stereotype] and 92 minutes of sheer boredom and quick fingers on the fast foreward to the good parts which narrows the time down to about 10 minutes if you are easily entertained.

I usually say if you have to see or read it rent it or go to the library and get it. In this cases skip it. It was bad when I watched it when it came out in VHS and it is still bad in DVD. Wesley must have needed a paycheck that week.

This piece of trash was snipes worst mpvie. Don't waste your time seeing it.

not that much action in it but dennis hopper made me laugh like hell ! how he's bullchitting the other guy the whole movie and at the end he says something hilarious, i wont reveal it but you will laugh. good lil movie.