Back home

Two-Minute Warning

94 votes

Producing House

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly and the SWAT commander, learn of the plot and rush to the scene.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1976-11-12

Runtime: 115 mins

Director: Larry Peerce

Spoken language: English

Genres: Action, Thriller

Original title: Two-Minute Warning

Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Filmways Pictures

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

J

John Chard
Undervalued thriller. A lone gunman has his sights set on a sell-out crowd at a championship football game. Captain Peter Holly leads the desperate fight to try and stop the maniac from picking people off at will. Perched high on top of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the gunman has his pick of the targets, the Mayor -the President - or merely the innocent? Either way he has to be stopped before all hell breaks loose. Much like "Rollercoaster" a year later, Two-Minute Warning is wrongly lumped in with the disaster movie genre that flooded the 1970s, and just like Rollercoaster, Two-Minute Warning is an excellently taut thriller. The build up is paced to precision, all characters are introduced to us to give us something to associate with should things go very wrong. As this is happening we get little POV snippets of our killer, accompanied by Charles Fox's harshly impacting music, the killer is never seen but we feel the dread, the impending sense of murder is a constant presence. Once we are at the game and the authorities are aware that a sniper is on the roof, the film shifts up a gear and lays on the suspense thick and heavy. Captain Holly (Charlton Heston in authoritative scene commanding form) is joined by the SWAT team, led by the cool and serious Sgt. Chris Button (John Cassavetes), whilst stadium security manager Sam McKeever (Martin Balsam) prays that disaster can be averted. Then the final third of the picture is a ripper of heart pounding stuff, a final third that rewards the viewers patience for having invested in the film and the key characters. Filling out the cast is Gena Rowlands, Jack Klugman (brilliant interplay with Mitch Ryan's priest), Beau Bridges, Walter Pidgeon and David Jansen. Two-Minute Warning is a quality thriller that is sadly undervalued on the big IMDb site, go on, give it a go and you might just be pleasantly surprised. 7.5/10 Footnote: I should point out that my thoughts are on the original unedited cut of this film, I have never seen the watered down TV cut and have no plans to ever do so.
2020-04-20

Recommendations

Ice
2.5

Ice

1998-07-21

After the whole North of the Equator freezes below zero, a group of people in Los Angeles risk their

Tornado!
2.8

Tornado!

1996-05-06

An accountant sent to produce an evaluation of a tornado research project, and the scientist running

Falling Down
3.7

Falling Down

1993-02-26

An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and vio

Death Valley
2.4

Death Valley

2021-11-18

Mercenaries with nothing to lose are hired to rescue a bioengineer imprisoned in a cold war bunker.

Tenchu!
3.5

Tenchu!

1969-08-09

A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the rut

Space
2.9

Space

2020-03-31

In the year 2050, Dr. Ada Gray and her fellow astronauts aboard The Udo fight for survival after an

Athadu
3.7

Athadu

2005-08-10

A hitman, Nandu, is hired to stage the assassination of a politician. However, when the politician i

King of the Rocket Men
2.6

King of the Rocket Men

1949-06-08

Prof. Millard pretends to be dead and helps Jeff King ferret out Vulcan, the evil traitor at the sci

Imitation
4

Imitation

2020-03-05

In 2035, a year full of violence and criminal activity, a hard working businessman, Oscar, returns h

Lava Storm
2.4

Lava Storm

2008-03-15

Lori and John Wilson, employees of an emergency response center, must find a way to survive the init

Tidal Wave
3.5

Tidal Wave

2009-07-22

On Haeundae Beach, a guilt-ridden fisherman takes care of a woman whose father accidentally got kill

WWE: The Ladder Match
4.2

WWE: The Ladder Match

2007-06-05

Follow the evolution of the ladder match and how it has come to be one of the most popular professio

WWE - John Morrison - Rock Star
2.6

WWE - John Morrison - Rock Star

2010-02-16

He’s the Shaman of Sexy, the Friday Night Delight. John Morrison is one of WWE’s best and brightest

UFC Fight Night 124: Stephens vs. Choi
0

UFC Fight Night 124: Stephens vs. Choi

2018-01-14

UFC Fight Night 124: Stephens vs. Choi was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fight

Super 8
3.4

Super 8

2011-06-09

In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train d

10.0 Earthquake
2.5

10.0 Earthquake

2014-10-15

Los Angeles is about to be hit by a devastating earthquake, and time is running out to save the city

Killers
3

Killers

2010-06-04

When an elite assassin marries a beautiful computer whiz after a whirlwind romance, he gives up the

Running on Empty
2.4

Running on Empty

1982-08-05

Mike loves his fast cars and his hot women. When he fancies the girlfriend of the local street racin

One Track Mind
0

One Track Mind

2008-12-10

One Track Mind explores the technical side and ambitious nature of surfing’s most competitive indivi

Pistol Opera
3

Pistol Opera

2001-10-27

An assassin fends off numerous attacks from her comrades, who are trying to move up in rank by killi