''Boiling Point'' is a 1993 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

starring

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

and directed by James B. Harris, who was also the film's writer. The film co-stars Dennis Hopper,

Lolita Davidovich Lolita Davidovich ( sr-Latn, Lolita Davidović, italic=unset; born July 15, 1961) is a Canadian-born film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics As ...

, and

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argent ...

. The film was released in the United States on April 16, 1993. It was James B. Harris' last film. It is based on the novel ''Money Men'' by former U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, who co-wrote the screenplay.

Plot

This film opens with Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer (

) and his partner Brady (

Dan Hedaya Daniel G. Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor. He established himself as a supporting actor, often playing sleazy villains or wisecracking supporting characters. He has had supporting roles in films such as '' True Confessions'' (198 ...

) doing some undercover work, when Mercer's fellow Agent is shot and killed by a new man, Ronnie (

) that criminal Rudolph "Red" Diamond ( Dennis Hopper) pulled out of jail. Now on a snap of anger and thoughts of revenge, Mercer wants to find the killer and take him down before he gets transferred to Newark. Although a cop and close colleague claims over dinner that Mercer must do it "by the book," Mercer replies that "when I'm done with this motherfucker, I'm gonna put him in a box..... by the book." A background theme is the closing of a big band dance emporium called the Palace. Lonely, Red takes hooker Vicky (Lolita Davidovich) there for dancing. Lolita is also involved romantically with Mercer, who is estranged from his ex-wife. Red continues to try to build a relationship with his old girlfriend, waitress Mona, (Valerie Perrine). Typically, he has manipulated and betrayed her in the past. Red is under increasing pressure to repay mob debts to boss Tony Dio (Tony Lo Bianco). He manipulates Ronnie into a crime spree culminating in the murder of the boss and ransacking his apartment. He tells Ronnie to meet him at the palace at 9 PM to split up the money. He asks Mona to meet him there as well. Mercer is building his case against Red and arrives at the murder scene seconds too late. Red is soon arrested and a net is laid for Ronnie at the club At the club Red again manipulates Ronnie in an attempt to escape, yelling gun as he ducks. Ronnie is shot by Mercer in the exchange and Red almost escapes. As Red is taken away in the police car Mona arrives, seeing him pass by. In the last scene Jimmy asks Vicky to leave with him. The epilogue reports that they actually did move to Newark.

Cast

as US Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer * Dennis Hopper as Rudolph "Red" Diamond *

as Vikki Dunbar *

as Ronnie *

as US Treasury Agent Sam Brady *

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

as Virgil Leach *

Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...

as Max Waxman * Christine Elise as Carol *

Tony Lo Bianco Anthony LoBianco (born October 19, 1936) is an Italian-American film, stage, and television actor. Born to first-generation Italian American parents in New York City, Lo Bianco began his career in theater, and appeared in several Broadway prod ...

as Tony Dio *

Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...

as Mona *

James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as Marshall Strickland in ''Back to the Future Part ...

as Senior US Treasury Agent Jerry Levitt *

Paul Gleason Paul Xavier Gleason (May 4, 1939 – May 27, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was known for his roles on television series such as '' All My Children'' and films such as ''The Breakfast Club'', ''Trading Places'', and ''Di ...

as Michael, The Transaction Man * Lorraine Evanoff as Connie * Stephanie E. Williams as Sally Mercer *

Tobin Bell Tobin may refer to: Name * Tobin (surname) * Tobin (given name) Places in the United States * Tobin, California * Tobin Bridge, near Boston, Massachusetts * Tobin Range, a mountain range in Nevada * Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana * Tobi ...

as Freddie Roth *

Bobby Hosea Bobby Hosea (born 1955) is an American film and television actor. He played O. J. Simpson in the Fox movie ''The O. J. Simpson Story''. and John Allen Muhammad in '' D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear''. He is the head of Train 'Em Up Academy, Inc., an ...

as Steve * Al Guarino as US Treasury Agent Sal Russo *

George Gerdes George Gerdes (February 23, 1948 – January 1, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter and character actor. Early life and education He was born in Queens, New York City. He formed a group, the Alumicron Fab Tabs, with friend Loudon Wain ...

as Henderson *

James Pickens Jr. James Pickens Jr. (born October 26, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kers ...

as Prison Guard *

Jophery Brown Jophery Clifford Brown (January 22, 1945 – January 11, 2014) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who made one relief appearance for the Chicago Cubs. He became an award-winning stunt man and actor. Early life and family Brown was born in Gramb ...

as Edmund, The Bar Backup Man * Rick Dean as The Bartender

Reception

Critical response

The film earned negative reviews from critics. It currently holds a 17% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 12 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boiling Point 1993 films 1993 action thriller films 1990s police procedural films American films about revenge American action thriller films American police detective films Films directed by James B. Harris Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in California Warner Bros. films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films