Los jueces de la noche

Judgment Night is pure 90's action escapism, from a time when the genre had a slick, nihilistic atmosphere. It's one of those 'night from hell' chase films that takes a group of naive, childish suburban dudes and throws the, into the heart of an urban hellhole, pursued by a rabid pack of howling hyena like scumbag criminals through a chaotic nightscape filled with an army of babbling homeless loons, endless labyrinthine project buildings, and seemingly no way out. Emilio Estevez plays a family man who decides to take his hapless brother (Stephen Dorff), his buddy Cuba Gooding Jr., and their letcherous lawyer friend (Jeremy Piven), for a night out in the big city to, see the basketball game, in his giant obnoxious Winnebago. As soon as they enter the old smoke, trouble begins to brew. They witness a terrified fleeing bum get murdered by vicious street thug Fallon (Denis Leary), and his dangerous, leering crew. They themselves become witnesses and are forced to run through a hostile, unfamiliar environment for there lives, pursued by these determined, nefarious psychos. It's a simple enough premise elevated by excellent choice of locations and a well done aura of urban decay and inner city disorder, presided over by goons and gargoyles. Leary is a razor tongued prick, relishing every moment of whiplash violence and aggression. Peter Greene is solid as his second in command. The film has a rowdy, animalistic energy to it and is a good watch for the AM hours when you're a little wired and looking for something to light a fire under your ass.

This movie was on late one night and I watched it due to the fact that Cuba Gooding Jr., Emilio Esteves and Stephen Dorf was in it. What emerged was a surprisingly good thriller great acting And the plot was quite good. Also Dennis Leary was a standout as the ruthless gangster.

All in all ****1/2 out of *****

Since seeing this film I've never been comfortable with Denis Leary as a comedian because he's so damn convincing as the cold-hearted bad guy in this. I think he's a great actor but this is the movie to see him in as it's A. His best performance and B. One of the best villains ever in movies.

Leary plays Fallon, a dangerous criminal from Chicago's bad side. And when four middle class pals from the quiet suburbs cross him and witness a murder a chase across derelict landscapes follows. The spoon-fed quartet are way out of their comfort zone and have no idea how to navigate the ghetto or deal with its dwellers. Peter Greene, an actor always like to see, plays Sykes, one of Fallon's cohorts as well as Everlast from the rap group House of Pain as Rhodes. They sure do make a threatening impression.

Judgment Night kind of comes across as a modern, urban Deliverance. There are many similarities between them but Judgment Night clearly has more excitement. Estevez (who was cast very late after Tom Cruise and Christian Slater turned down the lead role), Gooding Jnr, Piven and Dorff play well off each other and Piven especially seems to really get into the whiny runt of his character. Though the editors really should have cut down the in-fighting and petty bickering between the quartet as it often slows the film down to a complete stop.

Director Stephen Hopkins (who also did Predator 2 and Blown Away) uses creeping camera movements and neo-noir lighting to provoke multiple eerie moments as well as a great deal of tension. Slow-mo and warped sound effects are also used to great effect in the finale. Alan Silvestri's score is also one of his best, alternating between several different moods. His first score (electronic based) was rejected by Hopkins but that difficult decision proved be a good judgment (ha!) as the end result is one of the film's best features.

Judgment Night is certainly an overlooked tour-de-force and is a brilliant action film with fine performances all round, but Leary completely and utterly steals the show.

Soundtrack for this movie is one of the first CDs I got and one of the most worn out ones. But it took me more than two decades to finally see the movie too. I suppose I was dodging it because of pretty much bad reviews and, once again, I missed the good movie. OK, it's not masterpiece, but for an action drama it is above average. And music kicks ass!

7/10

This movie is actually pretty decent. I liked all the characters, even Jeremy Piven, who was kind of a dick in this. The story focuses on these four friends who get lost on a way to a game in a bad neighborhood. They happen upon a gang of drug-dealers (led by Denis Leary), and witness something horrible so Leary decides he can't let them escape. From their the movie is pure suspense, with the guys trying to escape the gangsters. Some very good scenes, one which involves them hiding in a train, having to bribe the hobos to keep quiet. A lot of action, some good acting, and constantly keeps moving. I give this movie a solid 6/10, because there were a few things that bothered me, but I won't go into this for the sake of not ruining the film.