There are plenty of Bruce Willis action movies people revisit on purpose, and then there are the ones that sneak back into the conversation because streaming gives them a weird second life. Striking Distance is very much the latter. The 1993 thriller has never really enjoyed the same reputation as his biggest hits, but it has the exact kind of sweaty, pulpy energy that can play surprisingly well on Netflix. Apparently that’s exactly what’s happening now, because the movie has climbed all the way to No. 3 on Netflix’s global chart.
The film stars Willis as Tom Hardy (no, not the actor), a Pittsburgh cop from a police family who gets demoted to river patrol after accusing another officer of being a killer. He’s joined by Sarah Jessica Parker as his new partner Jo Christman, with Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore, Brion James, and John Mahoney rounding out the cast. It’s a murder mystery, a cop thriller, and a bruised-up star vehicle all at once, which is probably why it feels so enjoyably messy.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Is ‘Striking Distance’ Worth Watching?
The inimitable Roger Ebert wasn’t a huge fan of the film, noting that Striking Distance feels like a thriller made entirely out of old leftovers. The biggest problem is not just that the movie is full of clichés. It is that it does nothing interesting with them. The troubled cop, the serial killer twist, the family connections on the force, the new partner who starts as an enemy and becomes a love interest — all of it feels borrowed from better movies. The review argues that even the ending cheats, making the mystery feel more annoying than clever.
“I wouldn’t really mind the clichés and the tired old material so much, if the filmmakers had brought energy or a sense of style to the material. A good singer can make an old song new. But Striking Distance seems unconvinced of its own worth. It’s a tired, defeated picture, in which no one seems to love what they’re doing, unless maybe it’s a few of the character actors, like Farina and John Mahoney (as the dad), who have scenes they seem to relish. Just because it’s been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done again. And better. Believe me.”
