Off Limits (1988)

Profanity runs very high in this engrossing army thriller of unrealistic, over the top violence (not frequent though) impressive, out there dialogue, and partial sleaze thrown in, of course that discredits it a little. It also has good acting from our leads, and everyone else too. The much missed and loved Hines, proves here, he was much an underrated acting talent. Scott Glenn who makes a guest appearance is short and sweetly effective as a kinky and suicidal colonel. We have a whack job, who's doing prostitutes who have had babies, all fathered by army servicemen. The killer points towards a high ranking army official, that I didn't pick, though I know a few people who have, like the answer was staring them, straight in the face. Though I was eighteen, when I saw it, and I was less smarter, probably today I'd be much quicker off the bad. The photography is fantastic, truly capturing the period, you really believe it's 1968, this film released twenty years later. We even have old radio excerpts as well. But the problem with Saigon, is it does give too much away, in it's intelligent but self conscious script. We have great action, well shot, some of it quite thrilling, and scary. Fred Ward is totally unlike Fred Ward here, as a colonel who has his own demons. It's the best stuff I've ever seen from this guy. Explosions and violence, run amok, in Saigon, this city of madness, where several people, witnesses, who can finger this guy are eliminated, while attempts are made on the relentless duo, Dafoe and Hines, who won't stop until they get their man. Model, Pays is great as a sympathetic nun, who proves she can do other things, besides the latter. The opening for me, is one of a few cool openings in movies, it had a dangerous and riveting aura, right from the start. I still recommend this flick to people, especially being a Dafoe fan, like me.

During the sixties,Anataole Litvak made "the night of the generals".A nazi officer was on a prostitutes murder's trail in Varsaw,Poland:and it seemed that the culprit was a general (check the title).That script was absurd -in Varsaw,during WW2,there was worse,to say the least!-and dubious taste.So back in Saigon,during the Vietnam war.Two cops are on a prostitutes ' murder's trail...and it seems that this killer is a general....Well you get the picture.Well,it's not that bad.It's rather entertaining,thanks to Dafoe's good performance.A lot of things do not rise above routine:the two cops who ,of course, are very different,the de rigueur swearwords ,and strip tease galore.What's more interesting is the conflict between the American cops and their local colleagues ,although it's much too superficial,as the Dafoe/nun 's relationship is.Unlike Litvak's Polish extravaganza in which we soon know the murderer's name,"off limits' is a whodunit,saving his identity for the last minutes.Best moment:although over the top,the scene on the plane where two simultaneous questionings take place gives goosepimples.

Gregory Hines and Willem Dafoe make an excellent team in this unusual murder mystery set in Vietnam.Actual filming overseas add to the realism.Anyone ever serving in the Pacific can attest to that.The soundtrack was great, using music not usually heard in most of the Vietnam movies.Supporting actors performances were also very good ( Fred ward, Amanda Pays ).I have collected all the Vietnam movies and rate this one of the best.

Off Limits is a tense and even paced thriller. It concerns two cops is Viet Nam investigating a murder of a prostitute and the first suspect is a high ranking Army Officer. The film contains shock after shock, with plenty of plot twists. The dialogue is snappy and the interplay between Dafoe and Hines is excellent. The supporting actors are convincing as well. Kudos to Keith David who plays a paranoid witness to the murder. And one may not soon forget Scott Glenns portrayal as a crazed Officer. The scene in the helicopter is as tense and thrilling as a scene can get. The film is not a preachy summary of the war in Viet Nam but rather just a good mystery and slam bang action. The ending comes around too fast but you have to check it out for yourself. I suggest this film for a rainy Sunday afternoon if you are looking for a good action flick.