“A rookie in the police force must engage in a cat-and-mouse game with a pistol-wielding psychopath who becomes obsessed with her.”
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break) and written in partnership between Bigelow and Eric Red(The Hitcher, Body Parts). Blue Steel is an action thriller from the 90’s echoing movies like The Hitcher, in particular, where a deranged psychopath takes a liking to an innocent and proceeds to make their life a misery by any means necessary.
Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a brash, rookie police officer, fresh out of the academy. On her first night on the job she witness a robbery in progress in a store. While her partner is taking a leak in the can she decides to tackle the robber. When the robber refuses to cooperate she guns him down, emptying six rounds into his chest sending him through a window pane onto the sidewalk. When the robbers .44 magnum goes missing, Megan is put on suspension for using unnecessary force. From here Megan’s problems escalate when her name is etched into 44. bullet casings used by ‘the 44. magnum killer’ on innocent victims..
Opening on extreme close ups of the cold steel of a weapon, Blue steel is a stylish thriller. Tinged with a cast of blue Bigelow paints each scene with shadows, highlights and smoke filled interiors. There is a gritty visceral feel to the action. Hyper real slow motion shots punctuated by effective sound design. It’s a precursor to the superior Point Break, a honing of Bigelows muscular style in the 90’s.
Megan is the lonely female surrounded by her male counterparts; a subtle sexism underpins the movie. She is continuously asked ‘What made you become a cop?’ insinuating that she isn’t best suited for the job because of her sex. Jamie Lee Curtis is excellent in the role, at times vulnerable and others brash.
The late great Ron Silver plays Eugene Hunt, a stockbroker cum .44 magnum killer. The stolen .44 caliber weapon becomes like a god to him. A twisted fetish, treating this cold hard steel like it is an extension of his person. At one point he accidentally ‘exposes’ it to an innocent man on the street. Possessed by the urge for gratification he guns him down in cold blood. Indeed his need for power and control would grow from there. Killing a prostitute bathing in her blood for pleasure. Seemingly a god, killing without reproach, untouchable by the law.
It’s a great turn by Silver. He is an intelligent psychopath playing a cat and mouse game with his prey. The cold blue steel of a weapon the twisted toy between them. Indeed the movie somewhat glorifies weapons. Filling the screen with glossy close ups; a fetish of hard steel.
The interaction between Eugene and Megan is the saviour of the movie, the other characters are stereotypes there to fill plot conventions. Not that the movie is perfect, it’s not. The biggest glaring mistake being the fact that a 44. Caliber weapon doesn’t eject shells yet they are found at every crime scene with Megan’s name on it. That in itself is quite a big gaff.
Arguably the first half of the movie is the most interesting with the slow descent of Eugene into madness. The second half becomes a little disjointed asking you to suspend disbelief a few too many times.
The inclusion of a sex scene 20 minutes from the end, at first seems odd but it descends into an effective albeit nasty power play between Megan and Eugene. Not only has Eugene to control her but he has to also take away her sexual power. It is a creepy and effective scene utilising sound effects in a very potent way. Eugene has completed his metamorphosis into a fully fledged monster. The only recourse for Megan is to give him what he most desires to die at her hands in a duel to the death.
In the end Blue Steel is far from perfect but it is for the most part entertaining. A quick moving gritty thriller from the 90’s.