Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 16, 2025

Steven Lisberger's "Hot Pursuit" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic Joe Ramone and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Had Hot Pursuit listed the names of three or four different directors instead of one in its opening credits, its current version would have made a lot of sense. It is a choppy film that constantly pulls in different directions and, in the process, mishandles numerous themes and moods. It is not a good teen comedy, it is not a cute teen romantic dramedy, and it is definitely not a goofy but likable action film. Large chunks of it easily leave the impression that they were lensed by cinematographers who had been given completely different instructions, too. So, had three or four different directors worked on Hot Pursuit, it would have been easy to conclude that on paper it must have sounded like an intriguing project, but, as it often happens with such projects, after it was completed, it turned out something completely different.

Because Tom Mankiewicz, one of the executive producers of Hot Pursuit, made some improvements on the screenplay that director Steven Lisberger had co-written with Steven Carabatsos, it is fair to speculate that he had detected at least some of the issues mentioned above. However, it is just as easy to speculate that Mankiewicz was not looking to transform Hot Pursuit into a perfectly coherent genre film. The 1980s introduced many films like Hot Pursuit and the ones that did very well at the box office were always colorful hybrid projects, mixing proper doses of comedy, romance, and a bit of action. In other words, Mankiewicz’s attempt to improve the screenplay must have been motivated by a desire to bring proper balance to the original version of it prepared by Lisberger and Carabatsos.

A sincere viewer who spends ninety minutes with Hot Pursuit will inevitably realize that Mankiewicz’s instincts were correct and he was on target. In fact, this is the main issue that cripples Hot Pursuit because it makes everything else in it that is not as good as it could have been appearing a lot worse. Indeed, had the romance, comedy, and action been balanced better, Hot Pursuit would have been a much, much better film. A lot more entertaining, too.

The current version of Hot Pursuit is, at very best, a mediocre B-film. Its main protagonist is Dan Bartlett (John Cusack), a disorganized college student, who flunks a big chemistry test and breaks his promise to go on a seemingly perfect vacation trip to the Caribbean with his girlfriend (Wendy Gazelle) and her parents. When Bartlett’s chemistry teacher realizes that he genuinely loves his girlfriend and the broken promise will become a permanent scar on their relationship, he changes his mind and, instead of keeping him behind to make up for the flunked test, agrees to let him pack up his bags and go. Despite his best efforts, Bartlett then arrives at the airport late and misses the plane his girlfriend and her parents are on.

The rest of Hot Pursuit, which is a little over two-thirds of it, is the material that should have worked best but does not.

Bartlett begins improvising and after reaching the Caribbean with another plane becomes involved with various goody and shady characters. One of these characters is a loopy skipper (Robert Loggia) on a quest to track down a crew of famous scammers and settle an old score. Then there is a group of friendly ganja-smoking locals who decide to help Bartlett reunite with his girlfriend but screw up and force him to spend a night in the jungle. In the final act, the famous scammers (Jerry and Ben Stiller) emerge, and Bartlett risks his life defending his girlfriend and her parents.

The math is not right, so it makes perfect sense that the balance is off. Chunks of the narrative show Bartlett acting like a typical frat boy and then other chunks insist that he is a suspicious cat with a proper IQ and even a good action star. The goofy scammers suddenly become serious villains. The silly comedy is randomly overwhelmed by proper suspense and drama, creating odd contrasts that make larger chunks of the narrative utterly incompatible. On top of this, a super stylish electronic soundtrack works extra hard to create an atmosphere that would have been perfect for a Michael Mann thriller.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hot Pursuit arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover of the film, sourced from its original camera negative, and finalized at Paramount. The 4K makeover is gorgeous and remarkably healthy, instantly giving the film a fresh new appearance that is enormously attractive. This new appearance is very convincing, too. It boasts incredible delineation, depth, and clarity, and terrific, wonderfully balanced primaries and supporting nuances. Unsurprisingly, all visuals have very strong organic qualities. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. Is there any room for meaningful improvements? A few of the bright daylight sequences could have benefitted from small encoding optimizations, but the key areas we scrutinize in our review are already as good as they could be. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Hot Pursuit has a very interesting electronic soundtrack that easily could have been used in a Michael Mann thriller. It does a lot throughout the film and at times it creates surprisingly great dynamic contrasts. The dialog is always clear, sharp, stable, and easy to follow. So, even though the 2.0 is not going to test the muscles of your audio system, I think that you will be quite surprised how effective it is in opening the film and even making it look like much bigger project. I did not encounter any age-related imperfections to report.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Joe Ramoni discusses Paramount's relationship with RKO, their '80s output and the latter's production of Hot Pursuit, the illusion that the film was shot in the Caribbean (the Caribbean footage was shot in Mexico) John Cusack and Ben Stiller's careers, etc.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Hot Pursuit. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It would be very easy to sell Hot Pursuit to someone who has already seen The Sure Thing and Say Anything.... It, too, comes from the '80s, and it's got John Cusack, chasing another beautiful girl, in the Caribbean. How could it not be good? While it does have a few good moments, Hot Pursuit is a badly mismanaged film. Tom Mankiewicz, one of its executive producers, attempted to improve the screenplay director Steven Lisberger had co-written with Steven Carabatsos, but the changes he made were not enough to fix its problems. Is Hot Pursuit at least good enough to be a nostalgia fix? Maybe, if seen very, very late at night. Then again, Class and Sixteen Candles would be vastly superior propositions. Kino Lorber's release introduces a fabulous exclusive 4K makeover of Hot Pursuit, recently completed at Paramount.