Cohen and Tate (1989)

Why so much hype?

one of my absolute favorites!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

I just rewatched this since the 80s. I could barely get through it. It was unbearably boring, nonsensical, and annoying.Let's start with the first scene. A family is under police protection in the middle of nowhere. The wife tries to make a phone call and realizes the line has been cut. They freak out and all of a sudden the police guards are killed plus this boy's parents. But before the wife gets it the assassin makes a call to his boss. HUH? The line was cut! So there already was an obvious error.As for the rest two hit men kidnap this annoying kid. The kid had an annoying accent and was so stupid you'd wish for his demise. Adam Baldwin was terrible as a psychopath. Roy Scheider didn't need to do much.Anyway, I highly unreccommend this.

This film turned out to be a wonderful surprise! Since most of the action occurs in the tight space of a car, it might seem limited to those who haven't seen it but it actually appears limitless. The trio (or perhaps the duo) play off each other naturally yet unpredictablly and there's little to second guess in the plot. The little hostage is less a participant than a true antagonist who manages to pit Scheider and Baldwin against each other rather masterfully although we know from the beginning that the two characters are miles apart. There have been great plays in the past with only one scene. This is the film counterpart but with plenty of action, a very effective musical score and a tight and efficient script. Despite the ever-present suspense, some of the scenes are actually rather funny - on purpose. Bravo everyone!Curtis Stotlar

This is a rare film nowadays, and something of a hidden gem. Yes, it is that Eric Red who wrote and directed this picture. Many of his trademarks are here - an innocent boy who gets abducted by a bunch of brutal yet somehow attractive murderous outsiders; a dark, noirish feel throughout the film; and of course, it's a road movie. The film opens with a devastating scene that still has the power to disturb and becomes a roller coaster ride into the nightmarish world of two hit men who kidnap a child witness to a mob murder. Roy Schieder is excellent as the the ice-cold Cohen. But what really elevates this film into myth is the war of wills between Cohen, Tate and the little boy who does his best to drive a wedge between them. If you ever get a chance to watch this undiscovered masterpiece, don't miss it!

The old, wise and weary veteran Cohen (a chillingly reserved turn by the always excellent Roy Scheider) and his much younger hot-tempered thick-as-a-brick Neandertal partner Tate (a frighteningly volatile and volcanic Adam Baldwin) are a couple of radically contrasting contract killers who abduct Travis Knight (a remarkably mature and uncutesy performance by exceptional child actor Harley Cross; Martin Sheen's son in "The Believers"), a nine-year-old tyke who witnessed a mob hit. They make a desperate 24 hour cross country drive to Houston, Texas. When they reach their destination the boy will be killed. The smart, perceptive and resourceful Travis quickly realizes that the only possible way he might survive this ordeal is by cunningly setting both assassins against each other.Writer/director Eric Red, who previously penned the superior scripts for both "The Hitcher" and "Near Dark," delivers a resolutely grim, gritty and gripping road thriller variant on O. Henry's classic short story "The Kidnapping of Red Chief." Red's tight, confidant direction hits all the essential bases with A+ results: the headlong pace remains brisk and unceasing throughout, the violent shoot-outs and rousing vehicular carnage are staged with considerable brio and skill, the constantly rough, edgy and ugly mood never lapses into gooey sentimentality, the acting is uniformly fine, and the gut-tearingly harsh and uneasy suspense steadily mounts to an electrifying climax. Bill Conti's jumpy score and Victor Kemper's agile cinematography add immensely to the sweat-inducing tension. Undeservedly vilified by a majority of film critics during its sadly short-lived theatrical release, this brutally effective and absorbing overlooked knock-out is hugely worthy of rediscovery.