Four young Asians (Hao Do, Tony Dew, Kevin Bach, Dang Tran) try to rob an electronics store, but something goes wrong, and when they fail to just abandon the thing while there's still time, they find themselves with no option than to barricade themselves inside the store with a whole bunch of hostages on their hands. And they really have no idea how to deal with the situation, nor are the hostages an easy group to control. The police has the area cordoned off before long and the store surrounded, and hostage negotiator Gomez (Mario Van Peebles) tries to talk the men into giving up to prevent the worst. And Loi (Hao Do), the most level-headed of the quartet, really seems to be somewhat reasonable, even if his original reqests are not - which include a few million Dollar, full body kevlar for the four of them, and a helicopter to escape over the border. But Gomez makes small progress over the course of the day - while really fighting against time, as not only does he know the situation is only getting more dangerous the longer this takes, there's also the local sheriff (Michael Balin), who just doesn't like Gomez' approach much and would rather just send in the SWAT team he has on standby to emerge as the hero of the situation. But Gomez digs in the hostage takers backgrounds and finds not career criminals but scared young men who feel disenfranchised and who see the robbery as the last ditch to get what they consider rightfully theirs, no matter how wrong that might be. But there are just too many variables in a situation like this to really control everything for too long ...

A Clear Shot sure is a bright light for all those who have tired of the seeming addiction to spectacle prevalent in current mainstream thriller movies, as there's little in explosions, over-the-top crimes, super-villainy, and out-of-this-world heroics here, instead the film puts an emphasis on characters (with all their flaws), and the psychologically layered mechanics of the situation they're thrown into, mechanics bound to spin out of control because of the very characters and circumstances, while not forgetting to add a bit of social commentary either. And thanks also to a well-structured screenplay, a subtle directorial effort, and a uniformly strong cast, the movie works like a charm.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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