Review of Striking Distance (1993) by Danielle S — 05 Jul 2008

Pittsburgh police detective Tom Hardy has been demoted to river patrol due to his anti-authoritarian attitude and an alcohol problem, as well as his insistent belief that the person the police arrested as the serial killer known as the Polish Hill Strangler is not the real killer.

Now after two years he starts to receive calls that precipitate a new series of Polish Hill killings and has to take on a police department that is hostile to him in order to stop the killer. Herrington is effective in being able to put a finger on the inner mood of Willis?s character.

And surprisingly Willis comes to the fore and gives the film what strength it has, reigning his characteristic flip wit in and coming out quite convincing as the person with the strongly principled moral line who has been burned by the system.

Unfortunately the psycho-killer element of the story is not well used and the killer doesn?t seem obsessive enough to make a worthwhile nemesis for Willis.