The Kill Point

My husband and I really like this program. We cannot wait for each episode to find out what happens next. The writing is better than a lot of TV shows today, the acting is good, and the suspense level is high. As an English teacher, I love that Wahlberg's character cannot stand poor grammar. The fact that the lead bank robber, Leguizamo, is a bank robber with a heart and feelings reminds me that this is only a TV show and not reality. Although the bank robbers are former solders who served in Iraq, I am sure they will be dealt with on a terrorist-type level. There are enough twists and turns to keep my interest and make me want to tune-in every week. Boo to the nay sayers! Keep it going.

I was channel surfacing one night and fell headlong into this film. The reason I stayed and checked it out was due to the explosive action and the quick developing drama. Pulling up a chair, I continued to watch as it looked interesting and the major character was someone I recognized immediately from other action movies. I eventually gleaned from the episode that a group of Iraq Era Ex-soldiers has assembled and planned to rob a bank. Their leader was known as Mr. Wolf (John Leguzamo) That immediately gave me reason to return for the next episode. The good guy of the movie was also a notable actor in his own right. The Captain of the S.W.A.T team and main negotiator was known as Cali Horst (Donnie Wahlberg). They along with several other notable actors made the series plausible and entertaining. What developed in the story however was a character creating situation which continued to evolve into a rather standard and dull situation. From modern directors I expect something different. This film started out reminiscent of "Ocean's Eleven" but soon froze into a 'Petrified Forest' remake. It also contains several plastic stereotypes, which bent over backwards trying not to insult any religious, ethnic, or sexual element. After watching the last episode, I was wrong in my initial assessment. Had it not been for Leguzamo, this movie would have been written off as "Same Old, Same Old.' As it is, he made it worth finishing, disappointing as it was. ***

I too thought it was lame at the beginning, cliff hangers were OK, suspense and drama nothing new and most importantly the cast sucked. Great acting by John Leguz, and Donny Wal, if they hadn't taken the bulk of the screen time I would have changed the channel a long time ago. I have to give kudos to John and Donnie for being able to carry a crappy cast like that and being able to keep the viewer in tune. Who the hell was that lady cop criticizing Donnie all the time, she sucked. The show was good in my view, but with a better cast, it would have been great... but not to be a hater I watched all the shows on my dvr and was entertained. Thanks for the show but work on the ending, kinda weak sauce.

this is an enjoyable series--well worth the watch. and if you want to put it in Hollywood lingo, then it is a 21st century "dog day afternoon", without the Attica chant. and if you don't know that film--see it. that's the meat of the series, but after viewing some decent twists in the middle, the end turns into a broke down copy of "heat".

and after watching a couple of episodes, it becomes obvious why the two leads went for this project: the writing and lead parts are exactly what mature actors dream of, and the producers must have convinced them that the small budget would be seen on the screen, and not end up on producer's expense accounts.

i'm an old recon marine, and some of the early tactical stuff had me cringing. but this can be partially discounted by the bandits being regular grunts and not trained for speed, but when the sarge called former marines--soldiers--throughout the series, i about soiled my sheets. we don't do that. we are not ordinary soldiers. i know. i was in the army and the marines.

but again, this is a great series--that is if you're into realistic television. it has many flaws: like dumping a cop in a populated area when he could have been dumped, blindfolded in the woods and thwarted the outcome; and whenever a killshot was needed and should be made by pros, they all shot as badly as the comedic, t.v. A team; and then there's the female vet/swat officer who acts like she was a three tour grunt who knifed tangos in their sleep for fun, instead of realistically being a truck driver who had a rifle in the cab too dirty to fire; and then there was the story's massively overworked murphy's law of extraction; and also the military insignia worn on swat gear (which would be a p.r. death to a police department), most probably used, against technical advice, as a time-saving Hollywood device so the viewers could identify officers wearing gas masks later in the show.

but throughout the strong points fully outweigh the weak. there is well fledged character development. and that is very hard to find. and all good springs from competent writing, a series time frame to grow in, and a production team dedicated to the project. despite obviously disregarding adviser input.

one of my favorites about this series is that it was not produced to go beyond one season--and then only eight episodes. that took balls. look how far they elongated "prison break", now there was a one season show extended over and over again because the ratings were strong.

and how the hell did it show up on spike? it may have been produced first then put up for sale--and spike was the only one ready to buy for the right price--or it may have been flatly rejected because it was too short for a series, and too long for a mini series, and since it fits neither.... anyway, what a shame, and this shows the limited vision of network t.v. executives.

By and large TV mini-series are horrible little things, plagued by low production values and actors that barely qualify as B-list. Occasionally you see a Stephen King story pop up that is told fairly well, but other than that the field is sparse with anything of decent quality. Because of this, the Kill Zone deserves special attention for what it is - an extremely well produced piece of television that falls more in line with a moderately low budget movie than the typical TV mini-series you run into.

The acting is top notch, Leguizamo and Wahlberg(who looks exactly like Bruce Willis circa 1990 oddly) deliver performances worthy of any film and the rest of the cast who are primarily unknowns(except for an appearance by Wahlberg's Saw 2 nemesis, Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell) all fill their purpose more than adequately.

Unfortunately it does has its share of flaws, otherwise it wouldn't be stuck on a mediocre cable network as a mini series to begin with. Primarily there are a number of plot holes and quite a few issues of improbable occurrences(a massive fire fight between two heavily armed forces that results in the casualty of not one character central to the story for example), so basically the stuff you can typically lay at the foot of any action oriented movie, series, or other.

The basic story however is quite solid, and has multiple layers presented to keep it from just being some guys holding hostages in a bank for 8 hours straight. While some of these lines are never taken to their true potential(primarily Tobin Bell's involvement) in favor of keeping the focus on Leguizamo and Wahlberg's interaction, for the most part they serve their purpose.

All in all, you have to look at this series for what it is. A mini-series on Spike with a moderate budget at best. And for what it has going for it, it is damn good and a solid 8 hours of entertainment. And really, what more can we ask from our TVs? Not everything need be a masterpiece.