A Clear Shot (2019)

Directed by: Nick Leisure | 90 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Mario Van Peebles, Mandela Van Peebles, Jessica Meza, Marshal Hilton, David Fernandez Jr., Lance Woods, Tony Dew, Kevin Bach, Sandra Gutierrez, Hao Do, Dang Tran, Jeanne Carr, Diana Acevedo, Michael Balin, Alex Felix Justin Nesbitt, Glenn Plummer, Aldo Quintero Torres, Rafael Siegel, Val Victa

‘Based on true facts’. In 2020, the preceding text is almost as effective as a text such as ‘based on comic series X’. Movies inspired by reality are very popular, so directors need to cut out eye-catching headlines and keep them in a clipping folder. With enough notable news stories at hand, it’s easy to submit these to a studio boss in hopes of getting the green light to canning a movie. Director Nick Leisure managed to film a bizarre history. For little money, but with a solid result. And with cult hero Mario Van Peebles in the lead role. Not badly done!

The story of ‘A Clear Shot’ is loosely based on a 1991 hostage situation in Sacramento. Four Vietnamese men stormed a Good Guys electronics store and demanded money. This hostage-taking ended disastrously for most of the hostage-takers. Several hostages also died. ‘A Clear Shot’ revolves around negotiator Gomez (Van Peebles). This alcoholic man must pull out all the stops when he is called in to bring a hostage situation under control. A group of four heavily armed Vietnamese men rob an electronics store and take customers and staff hostage. Gomez must get the matter under control, but finds himself in a predicament. The position of the hostage takers is quite understandable.

Van Peebles is on a roll and the reason to see this film. Hopefully this actor will be cast more often. The other cast members unfortunately lack the charisma of the main character and are not worth mentioning. Leisure not only canned the film, but also wrote the script. Ambitious! The film wants to tell something about the treatment of minorities (including Vietnamese and African Americans) in their home country of America. At the same time, ‘A Clear Shot’ aims to entertain by using a lot of action. This combination does not always work well, so that the useful message is overshadowed by cheap effect. If you can see through that, an entertaining thriller awaits you that is well worth the effort despite the meager budget.