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Flashpoint

Flashpoint

Crime · Thriller · Western · 1984

Two Texas border guards find a jeep buried in the desert, with a skeleton, a scoped rifle, and a box with $800,000 in cash. Before they decide whether to keep the money or report it, they privately investigate the clues and unravel a decades old mystery.

Movie details

Flashpoint

“They drink together. Work together. Party together. They live for trouble. Now they've uncovered a secret and their troubles are just beginning.”

1984 Crime · Thriller · Western 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Two Texas border guards find a jeep buried in the desert, with a skeleton, a scoped rifle, and a box with $800,000 in cash. Before they decide whether to keep the money or report it, they privately investigate the clues and unravel a decades old mystery.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Flashpoint?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

William Tannen

Written by

Dennis Shryack · Michael Butler

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Bobby Logan

Treat Williams

Treat Williams

Ernie Wyatt

Rip Torn

Rip Torn

Sheriff Wells

Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway

Brook

Kurtwood Smith

Kurtwood Smith

Carson

Miguel Ferrer

Miguel Ferrer

Roget

Jean Smart

Jean Smart

Doris

Court is in session

Put Flashpoint on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.