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17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A superior B thriller, 2 May 2001
7/10
Author: Chuck O'Leary from Pittsburgh, PA

Definitely worth seeing if you can find it, "Cohen & Tate" is a terrific little cat-and-mouse thriller. I even own a copy on VHS. It's really a shame that this highly entertaining film only opened at a few theaters in the American South in early 1989 before being sent to video. The very underrated Roy Scheider ("Jaws," "Blue Thunder") and Adam Baldwin ("My Bodyguard," "Next of Kin") play professional hitmen who are hired by a mob boss to silence a young witness to a mob slaying. The film starts with a young boy named Travis (Harley Cross) and his parents under government protection somewhere in rural Oklahoma. Cohen and Tate soon arrive and manage to execute all the FBI agents and the boy's parents, before kidnapping the boy and driving him cross-country to meet the mob boss (who apparently wants kill the boy personally). But young Travis is a lot smarter than expected, and senses the animosity between the seasoned, very professional Cohen (Scheider) and the psychotic, reckless Tate (Baldwin). Rightly sensing Mr. Cohen has some humanity left, Travis cunningly pits the two disparate men against one another by telling an already paranoid Cohen that Tate wants to kill him. Written and directed by Eric Red (who wrote 1986's "The Hitcher"), "Cohen & Tate" is a tough, violent, tightly wound and consistently intense thriller that's the kind of superior B movie Hollywood used to make all the time. And like "The Hitcher," it's refreshingly uncompromising. Scheider is particularly good as a veteran killer with a little bit of heart remaining, but Scheider smartly never lets his character become too soft. He's merely the lesser of two evils. "Cohen & Tate" belongs in the category of unknown gems, and good movies that were never even given a chance to succeed. Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A black comedy of conflict between two hit men and a boy., 30 April 2006
10/10
Author: davidddt from Scotland UK

I cannot understand why this movie has not been given better reviews. One of those films which surprises you with its originality and which having seen it you cannot understand why it has not been given more screen time.

Brilliant professional acting between Baldwin and Scheider keeps you guessing till the end as to who is going to win the battle of wills between the two men and the boy. A terrific black comedy of errors which makes you feel almost sorry for the two hit men. It would be a mistake not to watch this movie simply because you have read the bad reviews of it on this site.

It deserves to be released worldwide on DVD.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Character driven thriller propelled by great acting. (minor spoilers), 26 February 2005
8/10
Author: Pepper Anne from Orlando, Florida

Harley Cross does fine work here as Travis Knight. Travis and his family were living out in the middle of nowhere in the witness protection program until their temporary hideout is infiltrated by gangsters. Travis is not only the sole survivor of the massacre, but also the only one who can identify the perpetrators. Two hit men known only as Cohen (Roy Scheider) and Tate (Adam Baldwin) are hired to kidnap the boy and drive him to their boss.

But, they're not dealing with just some kid. Travis actually turns out to be rather clever in what may seem like a helpless situation, figuring out Cohen and Tate's psychological weaknesses (Cohen is a by-the-book-no-questions-asked hit men while Tate takes pride in tormenting the smart-mouthed kid) and using it against them to protect himself.

It is a very simple film done quite well because it entirely character-driven. Surprisingly, it is quite a good thriller, despite the usual story of the hired hand and the mafia witnesses with great performances all around.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Brutal Bloody & rather enjoyable, 21 August 2005
10/10
Author: Raegan Butcher from Raincity, Pacific Northwest

This is a little known thriller from the guy who wrote the screenplay for THE HITCHER. Like that film this one is a road movie.

Plot: 2 hit men(the title characters) rub out some mob witnesses but have to contend with a survivor, a plucky little kid.

Roy Scheider's performance as Cohen, the sleek professional hit-man is wonderful. When he slips on what looks like a pair of black rubbber gloves at the start of the film, it somehow says almost all you need to know about him.

Adam Baldwin is equally impressive as the slighty less slick("You're a half ass!" Scheider tells him) and much less professional killer.

This film is extremely tense in spots. And if you're a fan of films that end with a BANG, you should enjoy the climactic confrontation between the cops, the killers and that damned little kid! This might be Roy Scheider's last great role.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
The Road Movie Hitchcock might have made..., 30 October 2000
Author: Dr Andy Minion (dr_andy_minion@hotmail.com) from Belper, England

This was the film that first marked out for me the name Eric Red as one to watch.Not only a tense,character-driven thriller,but a wonderful ensemble piece to boot,with Alec Baldwin (not a name I knew,but one I've looked out for since) and Roy Scheider (working for that rarity:A filmmaker who understands his strengths and plays to them) providing perfect foils to one another-slipping from comedy to edgy tension and back again without breaking sweat. Don't bother with it if you're after cheap thrills n' spills-give it a try and think of the road movie Hitchcock might have made...

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Screamer of a movie!, 2 April 2002
Author: Noel Bailey (uds3@hotmail.com) from Longmont: Colorado US

User rating of 4.8? yeah right, so much for credibility!

Diabolically stupid reviews for this film go some way to explaining how this rating has eventuated but not all. Gratifying to see a few people with both awareness and understanding, albeit way in the minority.

For the record, this is one brilliant film, barely screened worldwide and buried long ago in video Boot Hill! A dialog-driven film which of course 'lost' the action-freaks probably during the opening reel. An entire movie shot more or less within the confines of an automobile and the interest never wanes (if you're SEEING, not just surface watching). Why is it brilliant? Because it offers the one thing ALL absorbing films do - INTERESTING CHARACTERISATIONS! Even Harley Cross as Travis Knight, the feisty lad under threat of death, contributes immeasurably to the film.

Arguably Baldwin and Scheider's greatest performances as the two hit-men thrown together on a "job" and yet who play by such different rules. Baldwin, the moronic Tate with no scruples, intellect or even taste. Scheider as Cohen the ageing assassin, weary of his lot but despite wanting to "get the job done," still with a thread of decency hanging over his doomed soul.

Extremely suspenseful and in some ways a human study that perchance the Cohen Brothers might have come up with. If you can see nothing in this film I can only wonder what you're missing in the rest of your three score years and ten? 8.5 out of ten, and don't even THINK about arguing!

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A splendidly grim, gritty and gripping late 80's suspense road thriller pip, 16 July 2006
9/10
Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The old, wise and weary veteran Cohen (a chillingly reserved turn by the always excellent Roy Scheider) and his much younger hot-tempered thick-as-a-brick Neandertal partner Tate (a frighteningly volatile and volcanic Adam Baldwin) are a couple of radically contrasting contract killers who abduct Travis Knight (a remarkably mature and uncutesy performance by exceptional child actor Harley Cross; Martin Sheen's son in "The Believers"), a nine-year-old tyke who witnessed a mob hit. They make a desperate 24 hour cross country drive to Houston, Texas. When they reach their destination the boy will be killed. The smart, perceptive and resourceful Travis quickly realizes that the only possible way he might survive this ordeal is by cunningly setting both assassins against each other.

Writer/director Eric Red, who previously penned the superior scripts for both "The Hitcher" and "Near Dark," delivers a resolutely grim, gritty and gripping road thriller variant on O. Henry's classic short story "The Kidnapping of Red Chief." Red's tight, confidant direction hits all the essential bases with A+ results: the headlong pace remains brisk and unceasing throughout, the violent shoot-outs and rousing vehicular carnage are staged with considerable brio and skill, the constantly rough, edgy and ugly mood never lapses into gooey sentimentality, the acting is uniformly fine, and the gut-tearingly harsh and uneasy suspense steadily mounts to an electrifying climax. Bill Conti's jumpy score and Victor Kemper's agile cinematography add immensely to the sweat-inducing tension. Undeservedly vilified by a majority of film critics during its sadly short-lived theatrical release, this brutally effective and absorbing overlooked knock-out is hugely worthy of rediscovery.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Awesome character study, 4 February 2003
7/10
Author: frickabee

Every time this movie is on TV I always watch at least part of it. The gripes people said about this movie are...

No action: There was certainly more action than The Godfather, another mob movie.

No plot: Did you watch the friggin' movie, or do you find it hard to follow movies like Toy Story?

Don't know about the characters: The whole movie is a study on the disparate personalities of the three. What don't you know?

Don't believe the negative reviews of a movie like this. If graphic violence or strong language doesn't bother you then watch this movie the next time it's on the movie channel or rent it sometime. Also, could someone explain to me, what's up with the obvious dubbing over some of Adam Baldwin's profanity? This is even on the unedited video version of the movie. The movie already had an R rating. Were they trying to clean it up a little? Watch carefully whenever Tate is swearing at Travis and you'll see what I'm talking about.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Great forgotten movie, 28 December 2002
10/10
Author: maxim_recoil from Maine

This is a great movie. I rented it at random from my local video store about 8 years ago not expecting much. I have rented it about 5 times since. I put people who didn't like this movie into the same category as people who didn't like the movie "Payback". You just didn't get it, so go rent "Home Alone" again.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic Acting, 7 December 2005
9/10
Author: Entwashian from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The fact that Adam Baldwin was in this movie was by itself enough of a reason for me to have ordered it from Amazon. But even better is that he is just one of several great actors in this film. Baldwin does an outstanding job as Mr. Tate, who at first just seems young and reckless, as Mr. Cohen implies, but gradually goes into full-on psycho mode, a transition that is very subtle and believable. Roy Scheider also does an excellent job, portraying Mr. Cohen's insecurities, and eventual despair.

I very, very much enjoyed the back-and-forth dynamic between the title characters, and what fascinated me is how the situation into which they were forced shaped their relationship and attitudes toward each other. Mr. Cohen is an experienced hit-man for the mob, all business, and resents the fact that the much younger Mr. Tate has been sent to help him with a job. Mr. Cohen sees this as the first nail in his coffin: his days as a hit-man are numbered, and the mob doesn't have a very good retirement plan.

The job the two are sent to do is to kill two witnesses & the FBI agents who guard them, and to kidnap the son and take him to Texas for questioning. At first, the job seems to have gone off rather well, and Cohen & Tate are on their way to Texas with the kid, Travis, stowed in the backseat of their car. However, Mr. Cohen criticizes Mr. Tate as being overzealous, and using too many bullets where just one would do. Then Mr. Tate turns on the radio, and we discover that Travis' dad, whom Mr. Cohen shot, was not actually murdered, and is able to give a statement about what happened. This bad news sets off a whole chain of misfortunes for Cohen & Tate, and their ideologies clash as they try to figure out how to best finish their original job of taking the boy back to Texas.

At one point in the movie, Cohen & Tate are laughing at some joke like two old buddies, and I really wonder what their relationship could have been in different circumstances. The pair really could have made a great team, but what separates them is Mr. Cohen's initial view of Mr. Tate as a rival, and the fact that Travis pits them against one another, in an attempt to escape from the hit men. And that's where the movie gets sticky for me. The kid who plays Travis is an excellent actor, but I find the character himself rather annoying, not to mention the plot line that a kid could manipulate two adult hit men in such a way that they would actually fight each other to the death is just completely incredible. I would have enjoyed this movie much more had the story not revolved around Travis.

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