1990s Dark Crime Thriller With A-List Actress Needs Rediscovery, Watch It Now Without Netflix Subscription
Jamie Lee Curtis may be most well-known for single-handedly protecting her neighborhood from Michael Myers in the Halloween franchise, but she’s done so much more than horror throughout the course of her decades-long career. From her Academy Award-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once to her anxiety-inducing portrayal of Carmy’s mother, Donna, in The Bear, Curtis has demonstrated time and time again that her dramatic range is second to none. Present-day career-defining moments notwithstanding, we need to talk about the long-forgotten 1990 film Blue Steel, which is a grossly underrated cop drama.
Jamie Lee Curtis In Blue Steel
Blue Steel centers on Curtis’ Megan Turner, an NYPD cadet who wastes no time getting into trouble with her precinct. After shooting and killing a robber at a local supermarket, a man at the crime scene named Eugene Hunt runs off with the robber’s weapon. Megan is suspended from the force because the circumstantial evidence suggests that the robber was unarmed and that she used unnecessary force to apprehend him.
A Lost Service Weapon Leads To Big Problems
Megan’s suspension isn’t the primary source of conflict in Blue Steel, however, as Hunt continues to use the robber’s weapon to commit several murders. Not knowing about Hunt’s involvement in the shootings, Megan ends up dating Hunt, who by now is obsessed with her and hearing voices in his head that are telling him to kill again. Their romance ends up being short-lived because Hunt admits to stealing the weapon from the crime scene and using it to carry out his violent crimes.
A Cat And Mouse Game
Megan makes attempts to arrest Hunt in Blue Steel, but a lack of evidence keeps her from putting him behind bars. She seeks help from Detective Nick Mann, but Hunt is always one step ahead. Now facing the reality that Hunt is also stalking her family, Megan needs to find the missing weapon to clear her name and bring Hunt to justice.
A Commercial Flop But Critical Success
Blue Steel won over critics after its release but was a commercial failure at the box office. The film was regarded as an over-the-top thriller but was satisfying enough to earn a 75 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Among the positive reviews is the consistent sentiment that director Kathryn Bigelow heavily borrowed from several cop thriller tropes that were prevalent in the early ’90s but blended them in a way that was refreshing when compared to its contemporaries.
Jamie Lee Curtis Received Praise
Jamie Lee Curtis was praised for her lead performance in Blue Steel, and her past performances in Halloween and Halloween II certainly set her up for success. Since we’re dealing with a crazed, murderous stalker, one can’t help but point out that Blue Steel occupies similar territory to the horror films that helped establish her career in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
A Deep Dive Into A Forgotten Thriller
If Blue Steel is one of the films you overlooked when it was first making its theatrical rounds, you can stream it on Tubi today for free. And if you love it as much as we think you will, you can dive deeper into its development, narrative, and legacy by listening to last month’s episode of the GenreVision podcast.
