Highpoint (1984)

This movie is pretty terrible, but I gave it an 8 out of 10 because hidden away inside it is a great little (shorter) movie.If you: * take out all the scenes with Maury Chayken and Saul Rubinek (who are fine actors, but most certainly not here)* take out all the speed-up-the-movie-for-humor scenes (most notably the chase through Quebec - indeed, drop most of that chase entirely)* take out everything before the opening credits (that is, the tedious 'backstory', which is explained just fine later in the movie -- indeed better.)* leave in everything with Richard Harris and Christopher Plummer (who appear to have someone else writing their dialog from the pretty awful stuff written for everybody else.)... then there's a cracking good fish-out-of-water story joined with a swashbuckler trying one game too many.So, be ready with the fast-forward button, and you might just have a good hour or so.

The Canadian movie "Highpoint" is a strange movie. On one hand, it wants to be a serious homage to the kind of thrillers Alfred Hitchcock made. But on the other hand, it also wants to be a kind of spoof of those Hitchcock movies. Needless to say, mixing the two tones results in quite a mess. It's obvious that the filmmakers tried to save this in the editing room, but the different tones still result in an inconsistent feeling. It doesn't help that each tone isn't very well done. The mystery angle isn't very clear, and the comedy is painfully unfunny (they even try doing a chase sequence Keystone Kops style.) The movie looks a lot better than most other Canadian movies from the same period (it obviously had an ample budget), but its slickness doesn't hide its unsatisfying soul. Only for viewers who really want to see how Canadians would do Hitchcock... or who want to see Christopher Plummer sport a ridiculous-looking moustache.

I saw this movie while studying in Edinburgh in the 80's. Loved it too. A light and fairly fluffy storyline with the prerequisite villain and good guy formula to the fore. However, the "highpoint" for me was the car chase featuring an MGB GT convertible doing some very silly stuff. Great action, and a spectacular end to this chase. Also, one little line from the movie is still quoted by my brother and I all these years later - when Harris goes to make a tricky maneuver in his car, he tells his passenger to put on her safety belt as he's about to do a "Brodie", and then yanks on the handbrake and spins the car in the middle of the road. Fun film, dated now but the CN Tower stunt is scary when you realise that someone actually did the jump, AND got paid handsomely for the privilege.

Peter Carter's last film (The late director of Rituals, Wolf Dog and The Intruder Within) directs this comedy and action film with Richard Harris as an undercover cop. Some of the scenes could very well be funny another film like this was made called Kuffs with Christian Slater. Carter supposely died of a Heart Attack shortly after this films release.