Richard Hawes An elitely trained former Legionnaire embarks on a vengeful killing spree. Utilising the techniques which prepared him to avoid capture and survive behind enemy lines, Straight Shooter (Heino Ferch) kills a number of high ranking officials he blames for the death of his family. The government bring in his former commanding officer, the only man with intimate knowledge of the killer's methods and psychology.Made in Germany, with a view to international release, this First Blood (1982) variant casts American actor Dennis Hopper in the lead role of former commander Frank Hector, while the German cast members have their voices dubbed for the English-language version.Straight Shooter is interesting because it's characters are not clear cut heroes and villains. When we are first introduced to Hector he is telling his girlfriend she has to get an abortion, when she says she does not want to he violently slaps her.This opening scene bears little relevance to the plot but does put the audience in an intriguingly awkward position as the love story between Hector and the District Attorney he is working with unfolds. In contrast, the film's villain is portrayed sympathetically as a loving husband and father driven over the edge. Both characters occupy a grey area which makes this stand out against other black and white, good versus evil thrillers.The film has an unusual look, which emphasises a unique vision. Bohn incorporates grainy and bleached flashback sequences and one excellent scene uses computer morphing technology to take us from an empty building exterior to the middle of a war zone and back again. There is also a good car chase / action sequence in the final half hour in which Straight Shooter is chased by a police squad car (a Porsche) and a BMW. He lures the cars into his lair and blows them up with a grenade booby trap and a rocket launcher.Use of space in Straight Shooter is particularly striking. Notable for its lack of claustrophobic locations and camera-work, director Bohn uses a series of long-shots and medium long-shots throughout the film, which give even the modestly sized house and apartment interiors a sense of openness. Shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, in addition to the bold photography of urban exteriors and cityscapes, the majority of the film takes place in architecturally vast buildings, which use wide spaces and glass partitions to emphasise the vulnerability of the characters. This is not an extraordinary film but it is a very interesting one. Well worth seeking out if you're a Hopper fan or interested in European films influenced by Hollywood.

Movie Nuttball Straight Shooter is a very good film that has a good cast which includes Dennis Hopper, Heino Ferch, Katja Flint, Hannelore Hoger, Ulrich Mühe, Jürgen Schornagel, Bernhard Bettermann, Maximillian Beckmann, Bianca Brad, Georg Blumreiter, Klaus Czizek, Walter Gontermann, Holger von Hartlieb, Stefan Hunstein, Nadine Klante, and Nicole Leòn. The acting by all of these actors is very good. Hopper is really excellent in this film. I thought that he performed good. I couldn't help but laugh at the dubbing! The thrills is really good and some of it is surprising. The movie is filmed very good. The music is good. The film is quite interesting and the movie really keeps you going until the end. This is a very good and thrilling film. If you Dennis Hopper, Heino Ferch, Katja Flint, Hannelore Hoger, Ulrich Mühe, Jürgen Schornagel, Bernhard Bettermann, Maximillian Beckmann, Bianca Brad, Georg Blumreiter, the rest of the cast in the film, Action, Thrillers, Mystery, Dramas, and interesting films then I strongly recommend you to see this film today!

Sebastian A German action movie, partially based on "First Blood" - this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. SPOILER WARNING: the rest of my comment contains several spoilers! "Straight Shooter" is the nickname of an ex-legionnaire from Germany who is trying to blackmail the government. In order to achieve that he assassinates various German politicians. However, a German terrorist does not ask for money, of course! No, he wants to force the government to turn off a particular nuclear power plant. He used to live next to it and believes that this is why his little daughter got cancer and died. As a consequence of that his wife committed suicide. Since the authorities are unable to stop his killings, they want to enlist the help of his former trainer in the French foreign legion, played by DENNIS HOPPER (the relationship between Hopper and the killer is somewhat like the one between Col. Trautman and Rambo in "First Blood"). The guy is now a pimp in London and the movie opens with him beating up his girl-friend because she just told him that she is pregnant. At this point two "federal agents" from the states approach Hopper, asking him to go to Germany. Obviously Hopper was the only American actor they had. The "agent" who speaks does that with a distinctive German accent. Hopper goes to Germany to help the authorities hunt down his former trainee. There he meets the "Oberstaatsanwaeltin" ("Chief District Attorney") - an attractive young woman who looks hardly old enough to be out of law school. Hopper's first question is whether she'd like to have sex with him. You might think, how stupid, a woman like that must be able to get something better than an aged pimp, but believe it or not, before that movie is over, she does have sex with him. Obviously the director fell in love with a beautifully looking 19th century public swimming pool and therefore decided to shoot part of this film there. Unfortunately the script does not call for a swimming pool. So they let out the water, put a few desks into the empty pool and called the whole thing the "police headquarters"! The movie continues to be boring, unrealistic and full of inconsistencies. E.g. the so called "Chief District Attorney" throws up when she sees two dead bodies - like someone in that position hasn't seen plenty already. In the end the police have trapped the killer in a building, but he gets out having put on the uniform and helmet of a cop - seems the screenwriter has not only seen "First Blood", but also "Leon, the Professional". The funny part is, that Hopper, who is waiting on the other side of the street, spots his former protégé amongst hundreds of cops dressed the same way the minute he exits the building. So Hopper grabs a gun and shoots the killer from behind - you can see this from his POV, including the target. The latter suggests that Hopper actually aims at his sit-upon - and that's the end of the movie....

Sven-9 STRAIGHT SHOOTER is a straight forward movie in a way, we all have seen in the German TATORT TV-series before. Director Thomas Bohn did well and tried to get a deeper inside view of a human killer (the Straight Shooter - Dennis Hopper as Frank Hector gave him this name but I still don't know why, did I miss a line?). Dennis Hopper is minimized to a very cool character (sorry for him) and Heino Ferch as Shooter could become a real German Bruce Willis - he should just have spoken a bit more! Thanx to Producer Joseph Vilsmaier for getting away from stupid German comedies and at least try to make a straight forward German thriller!