SHOOT ON SIGHT (Jag Mundhra). 112 minutes. Opens Friday (September 26) at the AMC Yonge & Dundas 24. For times, see listings
There was a time when bobbies didn’t carry guns. But things have changed in merry ol’ England post-?7/7, 2005, a date overshadowed by the Twin Towers but front and centre in Shoot On Sight.
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Set in the days and weeks after the London bombings – when the titular policy was authorized – and inspired by the fatal shooting of a terrorist suspect on the Underground, the film stars Naseeruddin Shah as a Muslim detective assigned to hunt down suspected suicide bombers. Complicating his investigation is the fact that the detective, a family man with an English wife, is distrusted both within Scotland Yard, including by his boss (Brian Cox), and inside the Muslim community.
The acting is good, especially Shah’s taut performance. But the movie has a distinctly made-?for-?TV quality, a rigidity and flatness suited to the small screen.
While Shoot On Sight does lead to an inevitable showdown with a terrorist cell, this is hardly 24, or even the BBC’s MI-?5 (aka Spooks). But if it were airing on TVO, I’d tune in.
