Probably the worst movie I've seen in ages. Uniformly bad writing, acting, lighting, cinematography: you name it, it's sub-competent. I especially like the way our Yanni-looking leading man (who aspires to Jimmy Buffet-ness) and B-movie queen Shannon Whirry (whose English accent fades in and out in even single lines) attempt to banter and have chemistry; it's laugh-inspiring. Plot? Who knows! All I can tell you is that Malcolm McDowell had reached his low point here. Avoid this movie at all costs! Or, watch it with two or three sharp-tongued friends a'la "MST3K" and have a ball! "Time is the fire in which we burn!" indeed!
9 Reviews
Fatal Forsooth!
Gluck-318 November 2006
Given that the user reviews for this film were so nose in the air, I was compelled to give the film a higher rating than it really deserves. (Forgive me Father.) Let's not make any bones about it; this is one of those run-of-the-mill, get it off-quick-on direct video (now DVD) action films, the kind you forget soon after watching. You can't expect anything special from such a film. So let me accent the positives, particularly after fellow reviewers have gone so far as to rate this among the worst films ever. (Yes, the sound you heard WAS a groan from the spirit of the Marquis of Queensbury.) I loved the relationship between our heroine and the hero. They obviously went all out to provide a study in contrasts, he a beer drinking slob from the Big Easy, and she a stuffy British bird who is not easy at all. And it worked! I wasn't familiar with the actress; I noticed in her listings she is something of a "B" queen, and I greatly appreciated her showing her wares (the film's dialogue comments, after she gets drunk and our hero brings her to bed unconscious, that she is a "10," and that not far from the truth. ((Those who might lecherously ask, "What, me Whirry?"... the answer would be a resounding "yes.")) By the way, let me jump ahead and provide another reason why I liked this film... it broke the rules, in this scene. Normally, the hero would be too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a lady in this state of stupor, but our cad of a hero actually did! I thought they were kidding, and at the end it was going to be one of those, "naw, I was a good boy" sort of thing, but that was positively ground-breaking..! Certainly only wonderful in movie terms; in real life we'd be talking downright contemptible, date-rape without question. She actually tells him, once she wakes up in the morning and over the phone, "I hope you used a condom." And her character was meant to be uncool!) So I loved this relationship. And our hero... whom I see from his listing has a tendency to cast himself, as the producer of many of his own vehicles... looked like a real hunk a' man as we used to appreciate in the old days, good manly build (in a natural way, without the superficial buff) hairy chest and all. And even though he was a rapist, there was a soft side to him, not one of those clichéd and boring heroes we would expect in a film like this. There were a lot of wonderful and clever lines in the film, I guess not too memorable as I can't think of an example now, but as I was watching, I thought to myself, hey. That was kind of witty! So the writing gets a plus... kind of. The plot? Well, what do you want. It moved. It's not boring. What do you want, for Pete's sake?
I'll tell you what else I liked. (Man, my glass is hopelessly half full compared to the other reviewers, thus far; theirs barely had a drop.) I love these B-movies that fill up the cast with familiar faces. I mean, Robert Z'Dar? Charles Napier? (At 62, a swinger with the chicks. This movie may not exactly rule, but it breaks the rules, I tell you!) And Larry Linville, an old guy here, but still getting it on with the lovely lasses. Again, not conforming to the rules of our youth-oriented society... yes, men still have sex after forty. (Women? Not in too many movies, alas, especially not this one. Okay, there are limits to the rule-breakings.) Malcolm McDowell can walk through the kind of evil boss role that he plays here, but he does a great job. Even if he's walking through it. His hopelessly young girlfriend (there's a trend here with the older men getting it on with the beautiful young women, yes I spotted it) is a kind of psycho, which is almost a cliché, but still kind of fun. We even get the obligatory twist ending... well, not quite a "twist," but you know how in horror movies we get the resolution, and after the dust settles with what appears to be the finale, there's room for one more cheap scare? We get that here too. And after the bodies pile up, our heroes (the lady has been won over by now; I thought her English accent was winning, by the way, as someone mentioned it was not consistent. I thought Ms. Whirry pulled it off) say, let's have sex! Yes, even with the dead bodies around them. Now if that is not a cool movie, what is?
I'll tell you what else I liked. (Man, my glass is hopelessly half full compared to the other reviewers, thus far; theirs barely had a drop.) I love these B-movies that fill up the cast with familiar faces. I mean, Robert Z'Dar? Charles Napier? (At 62, a swinger with the chicks. This movie may not exactly rule, but it breaks the rules, I tell you!) And Larry Linville, an old guy here, but still getting it on with the lovely lasses. Again, not conforming to the rules of our youth-oriented society... yes, men still have sex after forty. (Women? Not in too many movies, alas, especially not this one. Okay, there are limits to the rule-breakings.) Malcolm McDowell can walk through the kind of evil boss role that he plays here, but he does a great job. Even if he's walking through it. His hopelessly young girlfriend (there's a trend here with the older men getting it on with the beautiful young women, yes I spotted it) is a kind of psycho, which is almost a cliché, but still kind of fun. We even get the obligatory twist ending... well, not quite a "twist," but you know how in horror movies we get the resolution, and after the dust settles with what appears to be the finale, there's room for one more cheap scare? We get that here too. And after the bodies pile up, our heroes (the lady has been won over by now; I thought her English accent was winning, by the way, as someone mentioned it was not consistent. I thought Ms. Whirry pulled it off) say, let's have sex! Yes, even with the dead bodies around them. Now if that is not a cool movie, what is?
Erotic thriller with some erotic and no thriller
sep10516 March 2008
Fatal Pursuit is a poorly executed attempt at the erotic thriller genre. While suffering a number of faults it is primarily undermined by it's script.
Gang boss Bechtal (Malcolm McDowell), his moll Giselle (Lydie Dernier) and muscle Franco (Robert Z'Dar) steal $8 million in diamonds in a violent New Orleans kidnapping/robbery. British insurer Pinkrose (Michael Ensign) sends in Jill (Shannon Whirry) to investigate. She is teamed with local "good old boy" private investigator Deghy (L.P. Brown 111) and his sidekick Herbert (Charles Napier). They trace a witness to the crime through bad cops (Larry Manetti as Gersi), good cops (Obba Babatunde as Trindad, Joe Estevez as Morier) and subsequent witness Shelby (Larry Linville). Regarding the latter, Major Frank Burns in the MASH TV series, I should just note that this was his second to last credit before passing away. RIP.
L.P. Brown is believable as a "bad boy" private investigator and, as a co-producer of the movie, seems to have made sure he gets the best one liners. Unfortunately this leaves less for the other characters. This is especially notable with Shannon Whirry, who starts out with a reasonably strong and independent character but, through the script, ebbs into the "girl" in awe of our "hero". Charles Napier looks ready to have some fun, of course with that grin when didn't he look like he was ready for some fun, but the script leaves him nothing to do. Malcolm McDowell career has unfortunately descended into playing villains in B movies. The best that can be said here is that he's energetic, the man can snarl with intensity, but unfortunately that is all the performance entails. Lydie Dernier' s character is described or seen as "on the street" (prostitute?), thief, gangster's moll, killer and tourist shop operator. No wonder she just decided to play it as psycho. Robert Z'Dar has physical presence but isn't called on to do much (acting wise).
Once the romantic antagonism between Deghy and Jill peters out there isn't anything left but the plot. It would be unfair to say there is no plot; there is one and within its own context it is logical. The problem is that the plot is fundamentally stupid. First there is the witness to the jewel theft. Then there is the witness to the death of the first witness. It is nothing but coincidences related to the gangsters' amazing proclivity to leave witnesses. You've just killed a couple of people, stolen $8 million in diamonds and then you just glare at the witness and walk off! As for the erotic I would say that Shannon Whirry' s shower scene more than makes up for the fact that her British accent keeps coming and going. If they had expanded that to ninety minutes and cut the rest of the film we might have to revise our vote to 9 out of 10.
On the positive side the movie has a few good one liners, initial romantic tension between the leads and it moves along. It may make passable viewing for viewers in a non-demanding frame of mind. However I honestly couldn't understand why people just don't rent The Big Easy instead (same ambiance much more successfully executed).
Gang boss Bechtal (Malcolm McDowell), his moll Giselle (Lydie Dernier) and muscle Franco (Robert Z'Dar) steal $8 million in diamonds in a violent New Orleans kidnapping/robbery. British insurer Pinkrose (Michael Ensign) sends in Jill (Shannon Whirry) to investigate. She is teamed with local "good old boy" private investigator Deghy (L.P. Brown 111) and his sidekick Herbert (Charles Napier). They trace a witness to the crime through bad cops (Larry Manetti as Gersi), good cops (Obba Babatunde as Trindad, Joe Estevez as Morier) and subsequent witness Shelby (Larry Linville). Regarding the latter, Major Frank Burns in the MASH TV series, I should just note that this was his second to last credit before passing away. RIP.
L.P. Brown is believable as a "bad boy" private investigator and, as a co-producer of the movie, seems to have made sure he gets the best one liners. Unfortunately this leaves less for the other characters. This is especially notable with Shannon Whirry, who starts out with a reasonably strong and independent character but, through the script, ebbs into the "girl" in awe of our "hero". Charles Napier looks ready to have some fun, of course with that grin when didn't he look like he was ready for some fun, but the script leaves him nothing to do. Malcolm McDowell career has unfortunately descended into playing villains in B movies. The best that can be said here is that he's energetic, the man can snarl with intensity, but unfortunately that is all the performance entails. Lydie Dernier' s character is described or seen as "on the street" (prostitute?), thief, gangster's moll, killer and tourist shop operator. No wonder she just decided to play it as psycho. Robert Z'Dar has physical presence but isn't called on to do much (acting wise).
Once the romantic antagonism between Deghy and Jill peters out there isn't anything left but the plot. It would be unfair to say there is no plot; there is one and within its own context it is logical. The problem is that the plot is fundamentally stupid. First there is the witness to the jewel theft. Then there is the witness to the death of the first witness. It is nothing but coincidences related to the gangsters' amazing proclivity to leave witnesses. You've just killed a couple of people, stolen $8 million in diamonds and then you just glare at the witness and walk off! As for the erotic I would say that Shannon Whirry' s shower scene more than makes up for the fact that her British accent keeps coming and going. If they had expanded that to ninety minutes and cut the rest of the film we might have to revise our vote to 9 out of 10.
On the positive side the movie has a few good one liners, initial romantic tension between the leads and it moves along. It may make passable viewing for viewers in a non-demanding frame of mind. However I honestly couldn't understand why people just don't rent The Big Easy instead (same ambiance much more successfully executed).
Um...No Comment...
PatrynXX23 August 1999
tsk tsk tsk... absolutely terrible
sj_215024 July 2005
This has to be one of the worst movies of all time. The characters are completely unoriginal, acting is terrible and offers no belief in the story what so ever (also the actress doesn't keep her English accent for the whole movie, it seems to fade), the story is as bad as it gets and the scenes are just stupid. One of the first scenes it the movie shows people getting shot up. some guy somehow gets caught on fire and falls into death next to a parked limo. he is about a meter away and the limo explodes. this is the highpoint of the movie and it wasn't even good. I cannot believe that this was made in 1998. By the looks of this movie you would think it had to be a terrible movie from the early 80s.
Hoping for something good, but.....
wdbrown9 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I actually watched this whole movie just to see how bad it could be. It was worse. Not totally without out redeeming value, there are two recommended scenes: Shannon Whirry's shower scene and the love scene at the end. Sadly, not even those can make anyone forget LP Brown's totally inept, lame, sadistically annoying presence and performance.
The story of a British investigator (Whirry) on the trail of hot diamonds mostly suffers from a from tendency to focus on the seedy drunken New Orleans PI (Brown) who can't afford his own car, but somehow manages to own a luxury cabin in Mammoth Lakes. Focusing on the story instead of the character may have helped this movie more, but jettisoning the lead actor, who was also a producer, may have proved too difficult.
A terrible waste of talent, Malcom McDowell, Larry Linville, and Charles Napier, even poor Shannon must have lost a bet to be forced to work in this film.
The story of a British investigator (Whirry) on the trail of hot diamonds mostly suffers from a from tendency to focus on the seedy drunken New Orleans PI (Brown) who can't afford his own car, but somehow manages to own a luxury cabin in Mammoth Lakes. Focusing on the story instead of the character may have helped this movie more, but jettisoning the lead actor, who was also a producer, may have proved too difficult.
A terrible waste of talent, Malcom McDowell, Larry Linville, and Charles Napier, even poor Shannon must have lost a bet to be forced to work in this film.
BAM! POW! RAPE!
Groverdox18 January 2019
"Fatal Pursuit" opens with some unconvincing violent scenes, with punches that sound like a cushion being whacked with a ping pong paddle, and someone getting their hand off and burnt alive.
B-movie stalwart Robert Z'Dar (he of the huge face) appears wearing a wig that makes him look like a housewife on steroids.
Malcolm McDowell, whose presence in a movie at this stage of his career was certainly no mark of quality, makes an appearance, and so does Charles Napier.
The movie is set in New Orleans. Shannon Whirry plays some kind of career woman who is there investigating something or other. She meets a private eye played by Charles Napier and his coworker, a leisure-suit-Larry type.
You get the feeling the movie wants you to like the mullet-headed, moustachioed, leisure suit guy, which is funny, because he's so sleazy you recall from him. In one scene Shannon gets drunk and he takes her back to her hotel room. Probably nobody in the audience would not be wondering if sexual assault isn't on the cards. And yet, the scene is light-hearted.
Shannon comes to naked, and assumes she has indeed been raped. She gets a little cross with her sleazoid partner, but then they're friends again pretty soon. You'd think he showed her he can fart the national anthem or something, not that he made her the victim of a hideous violation.
You realise about half way through the movie that McDowell is the bad guy. They should have established that better, but the movie's opening scenes, with its unrealistic punches, hands getting lopped off, gunshot wounds, spontaneous combustion and exploding cars, were just too confusing for me to be able to tell what was going on.
Ferret-face himself, Larry Linville, shows up as a guy who can apparently afford a really babin' prostitute with a killer rack, though the filmmakers are dumb enough to not turn the lights on in the scene where she takes her top off.
I've said it already, but it bears repeating: this movie has perhaps the least realistic fisticuffs I've ever seen in a movie. The sound effects are particularly bad, so over the top that they make you realise the people in the scenes can hardly be considered to have struck each other. They look like they're wiping tears off each other's faces with their fists.
Shannon Whirry surprisingly only gets naked twice, with a long lull in between scenes.
I still found myself enjoying "Fatal Pursuit". It may not be a good movie by any measure, but it was still pretty entertaining.
B-movie stalwart Robert Z'Dar (he of the huge face) appears wearing a wig that makes him look like a housewife on steroids.
Malcolm McDowell, whose presence in a movie at this stage of his career was certainly no mark of quality, makes an appearance, and so does Charles Napier.
The movie is set in New Orleans. Shannon Whirry plays some kind of career woman who is there investigating something or other. She meets a private eye played by Charles Napier and his coworker, a leisure-suit-Larry type.
You get the feeling the movie wants you to like the mullet-headed, moustachioed, leisure suit guy, which is funny, because he's so sleazy you recall from him. In one scene Shannon gets drunk and he takes her back to her hotel room. Probably nobody in the audience would not be wondering if sexual assault isn't on the cards. And yet, the scene is light-hearted.
Shannon comes to naked, and assumes she has indeed been raped. She gets a little cross with her sleazoid partner, but then they're friends again pretty soon. You'd think he showed her he can fart the national anthem or something, not that he made her the victim of a hideous violation.
You realise about half way through the movie that McDowell is the bad guy. They should have established that better, but the movie's opening scenes, with its unrealistic punches, hands getting lopped off, gunshot wounds, spontaneous combustion and exploding cars, were just too confusing for me to be able to tell what was going on.
Ferret-face himself, Larry Linville, shows up as a guy who can apparently afford a really babin' prostitute with a killer rack, though the filmmakers are dumb enough to not turn the lights on in the scene where she takes her top off.
I've said it already, but it bears repeating: this movie has perhaps the least realistic fisticuffs I've ever seen in a movie. The sound effects are particularly bad, so over the top that they make you realise the people in the scenes can hardly be considered to have struck each other. They look like they're wiping tears off each other's faces with their fists.
Shannon Whirry surprisingly only gets naked twice, with a long lull in between scenes.
I still found myself enjoying "Fatal Pursuit". It may not be a good movie by any measure, but it was still pretty entertaining.
a great dark comedy and romantic advenure/crime
priscellaholyfield10 November 2023
I seen an edited version, no nude scenes; this movie was extremely funny and entertaining. The two "odd couple" pair, were perfect for each other, and I love when the movie comes to a great ending. I won't spoil the plot. Cute, a little dark incidents of crime, but the PI and British lady investigator, always brought it back to a lighter side of funny, and just a great crime, yet feel good movie, The investigation was like a little thrilling romantic adventure of two people that were an obvious "not made for each other" pair. I think the places and/or scenes they had to endure together, were hysterical, yet edgy in a thriller/crime way. The sexual overtones were not overdone, and made it more funny and more believable, in how these two people work together. If you don't mind a few people gettin blown up, it's a really cute, funny and entertaining way to spend watching a movie. But, it's only a movie, so it was really great. Imo.
In hindsight I should have changed the channel and watched Chuck Norris' Infomercial
k2thab5 December 2003
One late Friday night/morning in the blistering Australian summer, I found myself unable to sleep and with nothing to do besides willing on a cold front, I turned on my T.V and found a film called 'Fatal Pursuit'. With my only other option being a Chuck Norris informercial, i settled in and watched quite possibly the worst movie i've ever seen (although 'Overboard' still holds that mighty crown). There is no intelligent way to describe how bad the film is, so i'll simply say this: It Sucks. It Just plain Sucks. The only possible reasons for watching this film are: the main Character's moustache, the big chin guy from Tango & Cash, and the refreshingly large amount of full body female nudity. Chuck Norris' Total Gym never looked better.
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