Boiling Point (1993 film)

Boiling Point is a 1993 American action film starring Wesley Snipes and directed by James B. Harris, who was also the film's writer. The film co-stars Dennis Hopper, Lolita Davidovich, and Viggo Mortensen.

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
The film opens with Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer (Wesley Snipes) and his partner Brady (Dan Hedaya) doing some undercover work, when Mercer's fellow agent is shot and killed by a new man, Ronnie (Viggo Mortensen), whom 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 with, "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. Vicky 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 and killed by Mercer in the exchange, but not before Ronnie manages to seriously wound Brady. In the chaos, Red almost manages to escape but he is blocked by cops stationed outside the club. As Red is taken away in the police car, Mona arrives and sees him pass by in the car.

The epilogue reveals that Jimmy and Vicky moved together to Newark, New Jersey, while Red was sentenced to life without parole for his crimes.

Cast

 * Wesley Snipes as US Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer
 * Dennis Hopper as Rudolph "Red" Diamond
 * Lolita Davidovich as Vikki Dunbar
 * Viggo Mortensen as Ronnie
 * Dan Hedaya as US Treasury Agent Sam Brady
 * Seymour Cassel as Virgil Leach
 * Jonathan Banks as Max Waxman
 * Christine Elise as Carol
 * Tony Lo Bianco as Tony Dio
 * Valerie Perrine as Mona
 * James Tolkan as Senior US Treasury Agent Jerry Levitt
 * Paul Gleason as Michael, The Transaction Man
 * Lorraine Evanoff as Connie
 * Stephanie E. Williams as Sally Mercer
 * Tobin Bell as Freddie Roth
 * Bobby Hosea as Steve
 * Al Guarino as US Treasury Agent Sal Russo
 * George Gerdes as Henderson
 * James Pickens Jr. as Prison Guard
 * Jophery Brown as Edmund, The Bar Backup Man
 * Rick Dean as The Bartender

Critical response
The film earned negative reviews from critics. It currently holds a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.