The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Momentum is a formal choice.”
The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.
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Hard to Kill
Action · Drama · Crime · 1990
Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his death
Movie details
Hard to Kill
“He's L.A. Detective Mason Storm. Three hired assassins left him for dead. And he's waited seven years to even the score.”
1990 Action · Drama · Crime 1h 35m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.8 / 10
33.3K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
33 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
41 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his death
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 Hard to Kill?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
The Corruptor
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The Rookie
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Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Death Wish
Action · 2018
A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.
Out for Justice
Action · 1991
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Assassination Games
Action · 2011
Brazil is a contract killer, willing to take any job if the price is right. Flint left the assassin game when a ruthless drug dealer’s brutal attack left his wife in a coma. When a contract is put out on the same coldblooded drug dealer, both Brazil and Flint want him dead – one for the money, the other for revenge. With crooked Interpol agents and vicious members of the criminal underworld hot on their trail, these two assassins reluctantly join forces to quickly take out their target before they themselves are terminated.
Avengement
Crime · 2019
While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.
Crown Vic
Crime · 2019
One memorable night in the life of veteran patrol officer Ray Mandel and his trainee, ambitious rookie cop Nick Holland in the LAPD's Olympic Division. With two cop killers on the loose and hunting for more targets, Mandel and Holland must contend with a city about to boil over, as well as Jack VanZandt, an unhinged rogue cop out for payback running wild in their patrol zone.
The Dead Pool
Action · 1988
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Death Wish II
Action · 1982
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
Death Wish 3
Action · 1985
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Bruce Malmuth
Written by
Steven McKay
Steven Seagal
Mason Storm
Kelly LeBrock
Andy Stewart
William Sadler
Senator Vernon Trent
Frederick Coffin
Lt. Kevin O'Malley
B
Bonnie Burroughs
Felicia Storm
A
Andrew Bloch
Capt. Dan Hulland
Branscombe Richmond
Max Quentero
Court is in session
Put Hard to Kill on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Auteur Devotee
“Speed as an alibi.”
The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.