Off Limits

R

1988

1h 42m

Crime

Drama

List

45%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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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

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Christopher Crowe

Director

Willem Dafoe

Buck McGriff

Gregory Hines

Albaby Perkins

Fred Ward

Dix

Amanda Pays

Nicole

Scott Glenn

Colonel Dexter Armstrong

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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

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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
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround