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Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Neil Duncan, Michael J. Pollard, Alun Armstrong ... see more see more... , Pete Postlethwaite , Ian Dury , Roberta Eaton , Tony Steedman , Susan Aderin , John Bennett , Bibi Bohorquez , Ken Bones , Mayumi Cabrera , Padraig Casey , Chris Chappell , Jadene Doran , Dave Duffy , Paul Grayson , Steven Hartley , Stewart Harvey-Wilson , Havoc , Charlotte Hick , Angie Hill-Richmond , Rikki Howard , Shelia Hyde , Papillion Soo Lam , Morris Paton , Martin Ronan , Lisa Roudette , Tina Shaw , The Shend , Tony Sibbald , Phil Smeeton , Tina Smith , Sarah Stockbridge , Alan Stocks , Jan Van Hool , Vanessa Victor , Cathy Walker , Jason Watkins , Lorraine Pascal Woodward , Colin Skeaping , Rob Edmunds , Gordon Winter

The year is 2008 and something is terrorizing the streets of London, leaving numerous heartless corpses behind. Fortunately detective Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer) is on the case and discovers that the ... read more read more...murderous monster behind the killings is just that. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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55% liked it

5,215 ratings

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Tony Maylam, Ian Sharp

Release Date: May 1, 1992

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DVD Release Date: March 5, 2002

Stats: 259 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (259)

  • cancercapricorn2002
    May 6, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    Split Second is a movie that can be described as "Blade Runner meets Predator meets Lethal Weapon". While not as good as these three films, it is as much fun as any of them.

    Set in the partially flooded London of 2008, this film pits future cop Harley Stone (Rutger Hauer) agai... read morenst an intelligent monster. The monster, who wounded Stone and killed his partner three years earlier, is back and killing again. The unbalanced ("lives on anxiety, coffee, and chocolate") Stone is teamed up with straight-laced serial killer expert, Dick Durkin. The resulting clash of policing styles produces a lot of the movie's humor.

    Although the movie didn't have a big budget, it overcomes that with great acting, suspenseful direction, witty dialogue, and good use of London locations.

    Hauer's performance gives Stone some complexity, while the screenplay provides the character with a minimal, but nonetheless effective, backstory. Hauer is tough-as-nails when needed, but displays convincing tenderness in his scenes with love interest Kim Cattrall. As an aside, I find it amusing that Stone's apartment is a mess with pigeons living in it, while the gun cabinet is the only thing that's neat and tidy.

    Neil Duncan is a perfect foil for Stone as the highly educated (post graduate at Edinburgh, and then Oxford) criminologist, Dick Durkin.

    At first Durkin thinks Stone is nuts, while Stone thinks little of Durkin's brains-over-brawn approach. But over the course of the film the two develop a respect for each other.

    There are some problems with the film. The villain's origins and motivations are never really explained, and the ending is a bit weak which from what I heard came from some pre-release cutting.

    But all in all, the film succeeds in delivering 90 minutes of rewatchable entertainment. If your in the mood for a good b sci-fi action movie check it out.
  • deano
    January 27, 2008
    deano
    This sci-fi thriller is an average rip-off of the visuals of Blade Runner and the story line of Predator.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    October 14, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Cliche and predictable, yet more fun than any recent hollywood monster. Cattrall was looking good in those days, and Hauer was the guy for this type of roles.
  • drblood
    June 24, 2007
    drblood
    All the performances are superb and it is a shame that this movie was so overlooked at the time. Unfortunately now that it actually is the 21st century, it's a bit anachronistic.
  • nuheart
    December 24, 2006
    nuheart
    A guilty pleasure, this one. Part Blade Runner, part Alien, part CHUD... it's ridiculous but fun.
  • EnigmaticHallucination
    June 17, 2009
    EnigmaticHallucination
    One of my favorite movies of all time. I can't believe I haven't had a chance to review it before now. Sure when you look at the "Thing" it looks like it is a prop that got cleptoed from Aliens but the movie is just balls out, big guns and great one liners. This is back in the da... read morey of Rutger makin good movies mind you, needless to say the plot is interesting, I'm sure many today would tear it apart but that doesn't make it any less a classic. You got Rutger who is the epitome of the rogue cop. His partner died by this "thing" that he is hunting and he has vowed to go after it always being just a step behind. Everyone thinks he's gone off the sane train as he carries "big big guns" and is often called paranoid. He lives on Ra-Ra's (chocolate mini donuts), coffee and nicotine. This guy is the character that bad asses are based off of. He's human/weaker side has a thin for his partners old wife Kim Cattrall and you see him soften when she's around. With the introduction of a new partner to watch over his shenanigans the two are on the hunt for a serial murder in "futuristic England" which apparently takes place in 2008. I remember watching this growing up and thinking about 2008 being the future, now it's a year passed. If you like some gratuitous violence and a sort of typical buddy cop movie where the straight edge sees that the crazy one is the only one that's in fact sane you can't lose. This movie is a classic and should be seen by everyone once.
  • loogenhausen
    July 26, 2011
    loogenhausen
    Rutger Hauer makes bad movies good, that's all there is to it. This gleefully over-the-top sci-fi/action/horror yarn doesn't have any orginiality whatsoever, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. You can't miss this if you're a Rutger fan or even a sci-fi fan.
  • jobbinfrank
    March 31, 2011
    jobbinfrank
    Every time I bring up the movie people bring up the fact that the creature looks like Venom, it does but I don't let that ruin movie.
  • acupojo
    January 22, 2010
    acupojo
    Sort of campy, but fun(ny). Best line ever in a sci-fi movie: "We need to get bigger guns. BIG ****ING GUNS!"
  • TheAluminumMonster
    December 17, 2007
    TheAluminumMonster
    For a movie made in 1992, it really hit the nail on the head about 2008...except for the uber=strong rat-beast/humanoid thing...Its a damn good effort from Rutger Hauer To be a bad ass. He's a bit like Anthony Stewart Head from the Buffy series, but you know, a bad ass. Look, I... read more don't feel like explaining it fully, but damn it, a mutant totally rips out peoples hearts and eats them. What the hell else do you need to know? If you can get a copy(its in the Moritorium so good luck) do so, because its bad sci-fi at its semi-best.

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Critic Reviews

Lawrence Cohn
March 26, 2009
Lawrence Cohn, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 20, 2003
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

Marc Savlov
January 1, 2000
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

Click to read the article Full Review

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

January 1, 2000
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Click to read the article Full Review

James O'Ehley
January 1, 2000
James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Dick Durkin: We are going to need bigger guns, big fucking guns.
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Split Second Trivia

  • What was the name of Neil Duncan`s character in the movie Split Second, also starring Rutger Hauer?  Answer »
  • What film is this quote from "What do I do put an APB on Beezlebub"?  Answer »
  • what movie does the line "need bigger f***ing guns big big f***ing guns" come from?  Answer »
  • Which hard man does John Travolta bump into for a split second in Staying Alive?  Answer »
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