A different way of telling a story

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Weary, but tough and dedicated border patrolman Jeb Maynard (a fine and credible performance by Charles Bronson) investigates the murder of his crusty partner Scooter Jackson (a pleasingly grumpy cameo by Wilford Brimley) at the hands of the ruthless Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, who's chilling and excellent in his first substantial film role), who makes his living smuggling illegal Mexican immigrants into America.Director Jerrold Freedman, who also co-wrote the taut and involving script with Steve Kline, grounds the topical premise in a plausible workaday reality, keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of dusty'n'desolate rural locations, maintains a gritty serious tone throughout, and handles the central issue of illegal immigration with taste and sensitivity (those exacting a typically trashy 80's Bronson schlockfest will be greatly disappointed, as this is probably one of Charlie's more earnest and less sensational pictures made in the 1980's). Karmin Murcelo contributes a touching turn as helpful and distraught illegal Elena Morales while Bruno Kirby makes a likable impression as Jeb's eager new rookie partner Jimmy Fante. Moreover, the sterling cast of reliable character actors gives this picture an extra lift: Bert Remsen as crooked rancher Carl J. Richards, Michael Lerner as corrupt businessman Henry Lydell, Kenneth McMillan as sympathetic fed Malcolm Wallace, Norman Alden as the jolly Willie Lambert, Charles Cyphers and John Ashton as fellow border cops, and Luis Contreras as an odious bandit. Tak Fujimoto's sharp cinematography provides an impressive polished look. Gill Melle's bluesy score does the moody trick. Recommended viewing.

"Borderline", admittedly, is fairly undistinguished in terms of presentation. It's passable as an action flick, and entertains reasonably well for 100 minutes. It purports to shed light on the problem of illegal immigration, which in 2015 is more of a hot button issue than ever before. Characters are mostly thinly drawn, but writer Steve Kline and writer / director Jerrold Freedman aren't completely insensitive to the plight of the good, honest, hard workers like Elena Morales (Karmin Murcelo) who feel they have no choice.The movie does benefit from giving its star, Charles Bronson, a worthy adversary: a particularly ruthless and cold blooded smuggler named Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, in the role that "introduced" him), who sealed his fate when he killed Scooter Jackson (Wilford Brimley), one of the co-workers of the Bronson character, Jeb Maynard. Jeb and Scooter are among those on Border Patrol detail, and when Scooter gets murdered, Jeb takes it upon himself to solve the case. He doesn't trust the ignorant agents of the FBI, who think the whole case is about drugs. Jeb must also break in a new employee, Jimmy Fante (Bruno Kirby), an eager beaver rookie sent from NY.What gives "Borderline" some stature today is its truly superior supporting cast. Bronson does what he usually does (which, of course, he is very cool at doing), but it's Harris and others that truly bring this to life. You can't go too wrong reading through this cast list: Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Norman Alden, John Ashton, Charles Cyphers, Virgil Frye, Luis Contreras, et al. Although the environment is very much male-dominated, Ms. Murcelo is appealing and touching as the illegal alien who reluctantly provides Jeb with the assistance that he needs.This is worth noting for a striking music score by Gil Melle and cinematography by the consistently dependable Tak Fujimoto. It *is* enjoyable enough, even if it is formula driven and not too memorable.Seven out of 10.

I love Charles Bronson, and I really wanted to love "Borderline," but it's about as exciting as a trip to the grocery store.It's the story of a criminal syndicate that smuggles Mexicans into the US like they were cattle, abusing and under-paying them as illegal laborers. It seems that some shady companies will pay big bucks for employees they can treat like slaves, and as a Border Patrol Officer it's Bronson's job to stop the flow of immigrants at the source.Except no one seems to care. None of the characters have any personality, there are no surprises and not really any action, either. The actors move from scene to scene because the script tells them to... no one has any passion or clear motivation. The movie is filmed without any sense of the fantastic... the Director seems to believe that it's all really happening, but the problem is he doesn't find any of it exciting in the least.Charles Bronson is almost invisible as the lead... he's looks like he could barely keep from falling asleep. Wilford Brimley, Bruno Kirby, and Ed Harris show up in supporting roles, but they too are in mellow comas, low-energy and reciting their lines quietly... The cinematography is awful, and call me old-fashioned by I much prefer a beautiful girl to look at in a film than dozens and dozens of mustachioed Mexicans. There are no women in the film.It's a good thing I wrote this review immediately after seeing the movie, because I can already feel it slipping from my memory like a daydream on a summer afternoon. There's nothing to see here, even for Bronson die-hards. This isn't a movie... it's just some stuff that happened.GRADE: C-

I remember when I was in grade 8, people where starting to buy VCRs, and owning one was a big deal. Dad rented one, and we picked out movies. Borderline was one of them, I thought it was pretty cool. Watching this film 19 years later I found it predicable, and a little lame. No way his truck could keep up with a Trans Am on the highway, why did the guy, with the T A, go off road where the truck has the edge. My friend Gord mentioned this, and I thought yeah. Anyways, no surprises here, but watchable. 6/10