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The Kill Point
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The Kill Point is a television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series is the first drama for the Spike TV network. The film of the series had the working title The Kill Pitt.
Most of the filming takes place in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh while most of the sound stage filming takes place in a warehouse in Lawrenceville, a section of Pittsburgh.
A first person shooter game based on the show is available online from Kuma Reality Games.
"Mr. Wolf" Mendez (John Leguizamo) and his men enter a bank and leave with the money.
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Encyclopedia
The Kill Point is a television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series is the first drama for the Spike TV network. The film of the series had the working title The Kill Pitt.
Most of the filming takes place in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh while most of the sound stage filming takes place in a warehouse in Lawrenceville, a section of Pittsburgh.
A first person shooter game based on the show is available online from Kuma Reality Games.
Plot summary
Jake "Mr. Wolf" Mendez (John Leguizamo) and his men enter a bank and leave with the money. Nevertheless, an FBI agent inside the bank follows them out and draws her gun. One of Jake's men opens fire on her, which attracts the attention of a nearby armored car. The men engage these two assailants and the Pittsburgh Police as they arrive from the cover of their getaway car. Eventually, the FBI agent is shot and their getaway car is disabled. One of the Marines is also shot, along with the getaway driver who runs away from the scene. As some of the frightened bank customers flee out the back door, Wolf tells his men to fall back into the bank. The men, who go by animal codenames, begin to barricade themselves in the bank along with about twelve hostages. Captain Horst Cali, a police negotiator (Donnie Wahlberg), arrives outside and begins to set up the command post in a local restaurant.
Under pressure from his hot-shot chief Nolan Abrami (Michael McGlone), Cali attempts to engage Wolf in conversation while a SWAT team commanded by Lieutenant Connie Reubens (Michael Hyatt) infiltrates the bank, hoping to catch the robbers off-guard. The attempt fails when SWAT set off a tripwire rigged to the fire alarm, inciting another shootout that claims the life of one of the SWAT officers and prompts Wolf to have a face-to-face confrontation outside the bank wherein he explains what he and his men endured in Iraq, even stripping down to his underwear to display the numerous scars inflicted on him during the war, his speech eliciting cheers and applause from the assembled crowd. Wolf warns Cali not to try breaching again as he returns to the bank.
Slowly the news of the hostage situation begins to spread throughout the town. People show up outside to catch a glimpse of what is going on but are pushed away by police barricades. Cali discovers there is a 16-year-old boy, Robby Sabian (with his father Teddy Sabian) inside the bank, and he makes rescuing the boy a priority. However the robbers need Robby and his laptop to try to find a clear frequency so they can communicate with Ashley Beck's BlackBerry. After a heated phone call with Wolf that goes nowhere, Cali orders the lights in the bank to be shut off until Robby is freed. Wolf threatens to kill a hostage if the lights are not turned on in one hour. As the deadline approaches, Wolf begins to contemplate if he could kill an innocent man. However the lights come back on right as Wolf is about to shoot Bernard, the eldest of the hostages.
Cali then notifies Wolf that the FBI agent that was in the bank earlier had died in the hospital. Mr. Mouse argues: "This is not what we signed on for. We said no one would get hurt, now we're cop killers." With one of their own dead, FBI is sent in to help with the negotiations. Cali is demoted to secondary negotiator in consultant capacity because he gave in to a death threat. An FBI negotiator comes in and takes over the operation, but Wolf begins to toy with her and making jokes, finally yelling at her that he will only speak to Cali.
In the finale, Henry (Mr. Rabbit) Roman takes control after Mr. Mouse was shot and killed by SWAT after they mistook the art book he pulled out of his pocket as a weapon. He answers the phone and tells Cali that if he doesn't have a bus and a chopper by half an hour, he'll throw bodies out every five minutes. He says he'll discipline the hostages. When Ashley Beck doesn't listen to Mr. Rabbit he drags her by her hair and leaves the phone on so Cali can hear. However, Rabbit soon gets into a disagreement with Wolf that leads to a fistfight between the two. Wolf ultimately beats Rabbit to death.
Wolf, Cat and Pig get help from Cali to escape when Cali learns that they have his wife. They escape disguised as hostages and leave in an ambulance. They have a van waiting for them under a bridge and take it to a secure location but Wolf has a bug on him and the police hear everything he says and are ready for him at the location. When they get there Deke and some men are waiting for him. They tell him there has been a change of plans, and that they need to take Cali's wife. When they try to leave, the platoon members point their weapons at each other, squaring off, and Quincy the sniper (Michael K. Williams) shoots one of Deke's men. Deke escapes with Horst's wife, and Horst follows him into a warehouse.
Pig takes off, with Hawk hot in pursuit. They exchange fire, until Pig hides behind an alcove and, using a broken mirror on the ground, stays hidden and looks on, while the other SWAT leave. He runs down to the train track, pressing himself against the grill to avoid being seen, and when he sees a train coming, hops in, avoiding the gaze of Hawk.
Wolf and Cat engage Chief Abrami and Lt. Reubens on the bridge. Using his last round, Wolf hits Connie in the arm. He screams he is out of ammunition, and Cat tells him to run, saying he has him covered. Showing great loyalty, he continues to fire until being shot several times in the chest by Abrami, and dies.
Meanwhile, Deke and Cali shoot it out in the warehouse, with Cali finally killing Deke, and getting his wife back. As he leads her out, he spots Wolf, and hands his wife off to another SWAT member, as he pursues Wolf, first throwing away his police issue gun, and removing a concealed Beretta 92. They get to the end of a wharf, and Wolf claims he has no life to go back to, or live for. He puts his gun to his head, and walks towards Cali screaming: "LET ME DIE WITH HONOR! PULL THE TRIGGER BEFORE I DO! YOU CAN DO IT!!!" Horst finally does, shooting Wolf once in the chest. As he falls over, and dies he asks Horst if he felt anything. Horst replies yes, and Wolf accepts that he now knows what he had to go through. Wolf dies.
Albert (Mr. Pig) Roman was the only one to escape and flees to Canada. The Canadian bank to which they have transferred the six million dollars allows a fellow 10/13 platoon member to withdraw it for him, and Albert leaves with checks for his parents ($1 million), Mendez's son Luke ($1.5 million), Marshall's dad ($1 million) and himself ($2 million) with $500,000 in cash
Characters
Law Enforcement Officers
- Captain Horst Cali (played by Donnie Wahlberg) is an experienced Police Negotiator and has never had a hostage or hostage taker die in one of his operations. He is married and his wife is pregnant with their first child, a son. He is precise about grammar, often correcting other people's grammar in the show. He also stalled a negotiation to correct the apostrophe in "Marcos' Restaurant". ("Marcos'" is a plural possessive, however there is only one Marco.) He is often seen using hand sanitizers, a further testament to what may be obsessive compulsive disorder. He is armed with a Smith & Wesson Model 60 revolver, in contrast to his fellow officers who carry Glocks. However, in the finale, the only weapon he uses is a Beretta 92F taken from one of Deke's fallen henchmen and this is the gun he uses to kill Mr. Wolf during the final showdown.
- Lieutenant Connie Reubens (played by Michael Hyatt) is the SWAT Team commander. She constantly refers to her military service in Afghanistan, and mentions having a girlfriend, implying that she is a lesbian. She has worked with Cali for a long time. She is armed with a Glock 17 at all times, and with a M4A1 carbine when in shootouts.
- Quincy (played by Michael K. Williams) is a SWAT sniper. Once per episode, he engages in philosophical monologues with his spotter who he calls "Johhny-Boy". His main weapon is a Blaser 93 Tactical sniper rifle with a folding bipod and custom muzzle brake. He only fires two shots, the first taking out one of Deke's lackeys, and the second finishing off the last, whose Beretta 92F falls into Cali's hands.
- Hawk (played by Michael Hogan) is a member of the SWAT team. He finds a note written by Ashley Beck that reads "HELP US THEY'RE DECIDING WHO TO KILL" in a vent that leads to the bank's bathroom. He also succeeds in capturing a member of Wolf's platoon.
- Chief Nolan Abrami (Michael McGlone) is the hot headed chief in charge of the hostage situation and is Captain Cali's superior officer. At the beginning of the series Cali and Abrami show dislike for each other. As the hostage situation drags on Abrami's respect for Cali's decision making increases with each hostage freed. Abrami shoots and kills Deke's M16-wielding henchman, as well as "Mr. Cat" while Cat tries to cover Wolf's escape.
Hostage Takers
- Mr. Wolf - real name Sergeant Jake Mendez (played by John Leguizamo) is a veteran of the War in Iraq. He served 15 years in the United States Marine Corps, had three tours of duty, and bears numerous scars covering his body from injuries sustained therein. He was the Platoon Sergeant for platoon 10/13, and leads members of his platoon in the robbery attempt. He received a court-martial and was sent to prison for refusing to send his platoon into a hot area (knowing that they would be killed). He has a 16 year old son; his wife died at an earlier time. Although he is always called "Sergeant", Sergeants usually do not have any control over platoons in the USMC. It is possible that he is a Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant but Marines always address all ranks by their full name; he would have control over a platoon in the event a Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant were not available to assume the post of Platoon Sergeant. He is armed with an H&K SP89 with two magazines taped together "jungle-style", which he later replaces with a Steyr AUG during the finale. In a promotional photo (above), Mr. Wolf is aiming a Glock 17, which he is never seen using one on-screen, using a Jericho 941 pistol instead during the final confrontation between him and Cali. He forces Cali to shoot him in the chest in the final showdown,killing him, wanting to have an honorable death.
- Mr. Rabbit - real name: Corporal Henry Roman (played by Jeremy Davidson) is a Marine Corporal from platoon 10/13. He is a big follower of Mr. Wolf, yet Mr. Wolf does not like him very much for lying to Wolf about running out of ammunition in Iraq during a firefight. He is armed with a Remington 870 with a pistol grip in place of the standard stock. He is one of the more violent hostage takers, and seems to have a noticeable dislike for Rocko, beating him on several occasions with almost no provocation. He also carries a severed ear taken from a soldier of the Iraqi Republican Guard during the war. After taking over the operation in the last episode, he loses control and is prepared to kill a hostage. Wolf then has no choice but to take him down, and he finally dies after being fatally beaten by his former Sergeant .
- Mr. Pig - real name: Private First Class Albert Roman (played by Frank Grillo) is a young soldier most notable for the tattoo of a spider on his neck and having several others on his body. He is a follower of Mr. Wolf, and is Mr. Rabbit's (younger?) brother. Before Iraq, he fixed cars at a shop, and after Iraq he was back to the same job. He was very upset about the fact that he gave his life for nothing. He is completely not bothered by the bank robbery and quotes "It's just a break from the bullshit for me". He is addicted to cocaine. During the Robbery, he takes a sexual interest into one of the hostages, Ashley Beck. He is armed with a MAC-11 but after Mr. Mouse becomes severely delusional and killed, he takes his AKMS before being armed with a Daewoo K1 carbine. In the final episode, he is seen escaping aboard a freight train. He also collects the heist money transaction after hiding in Canada.
- Mr. Mouse - real name: Private Michael (played by Leo Fitzpatrick) is a young soldier and one off the biggest followers of Mr. Wolf. Michael has total respect for Mendez. He is a great artist and is working on a comic book. He is constantly seen drawing pictures for his comic book in a little black Moleskine notebook. Not a lot is known about his service in Iraq but some can be assumed. It is possible that he believes in Islam since he is seen in a scene drawing in his notebook, praying in Arabic. It is possible that since he knows Arabic, he worked as a translator in Wolf's platoon. He is shot in the shoulder at the beginning of the robbery. Ever since being shot, he becomes more and more delusional as his wound becomes infected, until he accidentally shoots a hostage in the face while having a flashback of Iraq. He is armed with an AKMS but gets it taken away by Mr. Pig after becoming extremely delusional. It is possible he brought it back from Iraq. Mr. Mouse was shot to death by SWAT officers when he walked out of the bank against Wolf's orders during a delusional episode, appearing to draw a weapon when in fact he was still unarmed, pulling out only his sketchbook.
- Mr. Cat - real name: Marshall O'Brien, Jr. (played by J.D. Williams) is a Marine of unknown rank and possibly a medic. Although the USMC usually relies on Navy Corpsman, there are Marines trained as combat medics. He is very talented with medical situations. He works on the wounded FBI agent soon after his team takes hostages. As the FBI agent is taken out of the bank (in exchange for food and drink), Connie notices that Cat's work is "a field trick", prompting Cali to realize that the robbers were soldiers. He carries a Micro Uzi before using a Heckler & Koch USC with a Smith & Wesson Model 5906 as a backup weapon. He is killed when he is shot in the stomach by Nolan Abrami while trying to provide cover fire for Mr. Wolf's escape.
- Deke Quinlan - No code name (played by Steve Cirbus) is a follower of Mr. Wolf and participated in the bank robbery. He was in charge of security outside the bank while the robbers where robbing the bank. He was also the driver for their getaway car. He was shot in the arm during the shootout outside the bank. He fled to his apartment where he cared for his wound. He later gathers together the members of platoon 10/13 to go save Mr. Wolf. Although, he did not take hostages with Mr. Wolf, he still participated in the heist. In a deleted scene, it shows Deke having a flashback from Iraq of a night mission were they accidentally kill Americans. In his vision, it looks as though he is a squad leader. In his vision, he is armed with a M16A2. During the robbery, he is armed with an Intratec TEC-DC9. He is gunned down by Cali after a long shoot out in the last episode.
Hostages
- Abe Sheldon (Geoffrey Cantor) is the bank manager for Three Rivers Bank. He is 45 years old and is not married and does not have children. Out of all of the hostages, he is the one who is the most cowardly and does not participate in the hostage uprising, though does stab Mr. Rabbit in the back with a letter opener when he looks like he's about to shoot another hostage in the final episode. It can also be assumed that he has neither friends nor family; as seen in the final episode when the rest of the hostages meet with their families, and he simply watches them walks away.
- Ashley Beck (Christine Evangelista) is the daughter of the fictional business mogul of Pittsburgh: Alan Beck. She is in her early-mid 20's. She says she has several small tattoos. A hostage uprising fails because of her when she was too scared to shoot Mr. Pig, having taken his MAC-11 during the uprising (she had made an earlier attempt at this, trying to seduce Mr. Pig to get him to drop his guard, but was foiled when Mr. Wolf walked in on the two before she could make her move). According to Mr. Wolf, she is a valuable hostage due to her prestigious parentage.
- Leroy Barnes (Ryan Sands) is a defense attorney and father of two sons. During the takeover of the bank, he hides a Walther PPK he carried for self-defense due to the hazards of his job in a potted plant. He later uses it during the attempted uprising, only for Mr. Rabbit to take it from him before beating him along with the others involved in the uprising.
- Rocko (Adam Cantor) is an electrician for the Three Rivers Bank. He is the most rebellious of all the hostages and greatly wants all this to end. He was once dressed as though he was Mr. Wolf to allow an assassin hired by Alan Beck to kill him. He was shot in the ear but survived. He was able to start the uprising of the hostages by cutting the power and taking Mr. Mouse's AKMS. After the uprising failed he was badly beaten by all of the Robbers except for Mr. Cat, Mr. Wolf choking him almost to death.
- Bernard (Bingo O'Malley) is an elderly man, and a self-professed homosexual who claims to have "come out of the closet" in 1953. He is one of the calmest of the hostages, rarely panicking to the degree of some of the others. When Mr. Wolf is trying to decide who to kill if his demands to restore power to the bank are not met, Bernard volunteers himself, saying that he is the "logical choice". During the attempted uprising, he manages to get a hold of Mr. Cat's Micro Uzi, though had it taken back when the uprising failed, Bernard being beaten by the robbers, albeit not quite as severely as the others.
- Chloe (Jennifer Ferrin) is a young women in her 30's. Her husband died not long before the robbery. She is a very quiet women and constantly in deep thought. She created a type of ritual for honoring her husband by writing his name on a piece of paper and burning it. She shows her method of honoring her loved one to Mr. Wolf, saying she thinks it will help him with his love of his lost wife. He is seen using this method later all alone in an office in the bank after speaking to his son who said "You know this will be the last time I talk to you". She possesses the strongest connection to Mr. Wolf, and at times seems to be under the effects of the Stockholm Syndrome.
- Teddy and Robby Sabian (Peter Appel and Ethan Rosenfeld) are a father and his son. Teddy is freed early on to give activation codes to Alan Beck. Robby is a computer whiz and is recruited by Mr. Wolf to hack into unblocked frequencies so that the hostage takers can communicate with their men outside. In episode one, because of his young age, Cali marks Robby as the number-one priority hostage to be released from the bank. Horst tries to negotiate with Wolf for the boy's release. However, Wolf needs Robby to keep the clear frequencies and to email Beck. In the fourth episode Teddy charges the bank and begins hammering at the windows. Reluctantly, Wolf finally releases Robby to his father.
- Henry (Adam Kroloff) is a security guard at the bank who is released after Cali delivers a cake without any meringue. He is also friends with Rocko. He was originally armed with a Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolver, but is promptly relieved of it by Mr. Pig at the start of the robbery.
Episodes
| Episode # | Title | Air Date | Re-Aired | Re-Aired |
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| 1 | "Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolf, Part 1" | July 22, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 7, 2008 as "Another Tour" | | 2 | "Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolf, Part 2" | July 22, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 8, 2008 as "Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolf?" | | 3 | "No Meringue" | July 29, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 9, 2008 | | 4 | "Pro Patria" | August 5, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 10, 2008 | | 5 | "Visiting Hours" | August 12, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 11, 2008 | | 6 | "The Great Ape Escape" | August 19, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 14, 2008 | | 7 | "The Devil's Zoo, Part 1" | August 26, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 15, 2008 as "Rabbit at Unrest" | | 8 | "The Devil's Zoo, Part 2" | August 26, 2007 | February 16, 2008 | July 16, 2008 as "The Devil's Zoo" |
Crew
The series was executive produced by James DeMonaco, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Steve Shill. DeMonaco has dealt with hostage situations before in his script for The Negotiator. Directors include cable regular Steve Shill who the network hoped would help to establish their reputation for drama.
Critical Response
Critics have characterised the show as formulaic but watchable. Comparisons have been drawn to 1970s bank heist movies, Tarantino, The Nine and 24. Comparisons to The Nine have been favourable on the grounds that The Kill Point always has an ending in sight. Mr. Wolf's speeches to the crowd has been called "an Attica moment" and compared to Dog Day Afternoon.
The characters have been described as cliché by reviewers. However, the script has drawn praise for its subtlety and entertainment value. One reviewer felt that the running time allowed the cliched characters to be developed in more interesting directions.
The casting of the show has drawn particular praise. Reviewers have noted the cast members who have also worked on The Wire including Michael K. Williams, JD Williams, Leo Fitzpatrick and Michael Hyatt. The chemistry of the opposing roles of negotiator and hostage taker also drew praise for John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg as well as a surprising performance by Jeremy Davidson an unknown whose portrayal of a disturbed war veteran was very under-rated. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette praised local actor Bingo O'Malley.
Webisodes
Online only "webisodes" featuring Steve Cirbus as Deke and Joshua Elijah Reese as Derzius were made available via Spike TV's website. They cover the activities of Deke and Derzius of 10/13 platoon outside the bank as they work to aid Mendez and company.
Cancellation
Despite healthy ratings, Spike decided not to renew the series for a second season.
External links
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