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Off Limits

Play trailer Poster for Off Limits R 1988 1h 42m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
45% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Plainclothes military detectives Buck McGriff (Willem Dafoe) and Albaby Perkins (Gregory Hines) arrive in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1968 to investigate a prostitute's murder. With the assistance of nun Sister Nicole (Amanda Pays), whose work has familiarized her with Saigon's seedier side, the two men soon discover a pattern of killings and learn that an earlier inquiry was called off by Army higher-ups. As Buck and Albaby struggle to uncover the murderer, attempts are made on their lives.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times It is grimness without redemption, violence without mercy, and it lacks even the cheap cynicism that makes some Hollywood potboilers watchable. Rated: 1.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) Parts of the movie are entertaining, but as a whole, Off Limits is glib, a little too sure of itself. It's a movie outgunned by its own reckless energy. Apr 18, 2022 Full Review Hilary Mantel The Spectator There are tensions, which might have been drawn out, but aren't; and the greatest let-down is that the man you think did it, did do it. Apr 9, 2019 Full Review Cathy Burke United Press International It's a film about ordinary people put in unordinary circumstances pressed to extraordinary levels, and the film itself becomes extraordinary by the effort. Dec 12, 2017 Full Review Caffeinated Clint Moviehole An explosive picture! Dafoe is typically great Rated: 3/5 Oct 26, 2008 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 28, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (33) audience reviews
Steve D Predictable and ineffective. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/02/23 Full Review laurie s There's a huge logical flaw in who the culprit is. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Two American plainclothes police officers working in Vietnam during the war (they had those?) investigate a string of murders of Vietnamese prostitutes who had babies with American fathers. Cover-up seems likely as the officers are ordered out of the country. Decent enough film but probably not good enough to be remembered long-term. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This was the second half of a DVD double feature and I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but it turned out to be a very watchable murder mystery set in Saigon during the Vietnam war. Worth a rental. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review william s An enjoyable enough mid week military thriller. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Sergeant First Class Buck McGriff (Willem Dafoe) and Sergeant First Class Albaby Perkins (Gregory Hines) are two joint services Criminal Investigation Division (CID) agents on duty in a war torn Saigon during the Vietnam War. When a prostitute is found murdered they discover that the prime suspects are high ranking U.S. Army officers. As they investigate they find that there have a string of at least six murders in the last year, but the previous inquiry was shut down from higher up the chain of command. Investigations lead them to Colonel Dexter Armstrong (Scott Glenn), but Armstrong rules himself out of inquiries by committing suicide. With the help of a French nun Sister Nicole (Amanda Pays) and their non-commissioned officer in charge, Master Sergeant Dix (Fred Ward), they finally close in on their target... "Saigon" as it was called when it came out in 1988, the change to "Saigon: Off Limits" (The term "off limits" referred to the area where the original crime took place, an area of Saigon off limits to military personnel) must have happend afterwards during the global release, was pretty ok as far as I remember. Reseeing it now, doesn´t change my point of view. The story itself is very much a product of the 80´s, a typical buddy buddy cop thriller structure with a nasty murdercase in the focus. The feeling of trying to cash in on the success of "Platoon" from the year before is there for sure, thus I reckon the storyline was set in Saigon due to this. And casting Dafoe as one of the main characters makes it even more apparent. The general vibe of the movie is very 80´s with an ending were the bad guy gets what he deserves and then everything is happy and dandy. That feels somewhat strange in 2013. What makes "Saigon" stand out for me is the acting and the great dynamics between Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines. I love Hines intense acting. The film marks Willem Dafoe's second Vietnam War movie. Dafoe had previously starred in Platoon and would go on to play roles in both "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Flight of the Intruder". And it was nice to resee the stunning Amanda Pays. A scene I still haven´t forgotten is the one with Colonel Armstrong (Glenn) throwing out Vietcong prisoners from a helicopter. A scene that ends with his own suicide. Intense and crazy. The movie offers some nice tunes in the midst as well such as "Funky Broadway" by Wilson Pickett and "Stand!" by Sly and the Family Stone. "Saigon" is a fast-paced, suspensefull and at times violent thriller. Not that bad in my book. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Off Limits

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Plainclothes military detectives Buck McGriff (Willem Dafoe) and Albaby Perkins (Gregory Hines) arrive in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1968 to investigate a prostitute's murder. With the assistance of nun Sister Nicole (Amanda Pays), whose work has familiarized her with Saigon's seedier side, the two men soon discover a pattern of killings and learn that an earlier inquiry was called off by Army higher-ups. As Buck and Albaby struggle to uncover the murderer, attempts are made on their lives.
Director
Christopher Crowe
Producer
Alan Barnette
Screenwriter
Christopher Crowe, Jack Thibeau
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.9M
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Surround