Justice sauvage

IMO, this is at once the best AND the most formulaic of Seagal's endless string of beat-'em-ups. If you like Seagal, you will love this film; if you don't, OFJ probably will not convince you.

The fight scenes have a nice, bone-crunching kinetic energy to them, the plot has something of an urgent feel to it, and the soundtrack contributes greatly to the atmosphere and mood of the proceedings. I especially liked the placement and timing of 'No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn'. This played during the montage driving scene where 'Gino' (Seagal) drives through various ethnic neighborhoods and reacts to various sights and extras - to me this was the actual highlight of the film, giving the viewer a sense of place and humanity missing from most films of this type.

There are, of course, a couple of major problems with the film that keep it from being anything more than a typical Seagal action vehicle. The first one is that 'Gino' is such an unstoppable fighting machine that you never really worry about him or whether he will be a match for the villain once he finds him. And indeed, once Gino catches up with 'Ritchie' (William Forsythe, dreadfully miscast and not especially convincing), the denouement is a completely one-sided *ss-kicking that lacks any suspense whatsoever. Gino just mows Ritchie down like winter wheat and the scene comes to an end. At least Seagal had some trouble with Tommy Lee Jones and the terrorists in 'Under Siege' and with the voodoo gangster guy in 'Marked For Death' - you got the sense that he really was in danger. Not so here.

2ndly, and probably worse, Seagal seems to have decided that he wanted to stretch himself as an actor in this movie. So the script gives the movie way too many scenes where he delivers endless monologues - no, actually they are more like oratories - in a static talking head shot filmed over the shoulder of another actor (or extra). These scenes go on for literally minutes, and bring the film to a screeching halt, because Seagal just can't pull them off. Hell I'm not sure Deniro filmed by Scorcese could pull them off, because these speeches just go on and on until even the biggest Seagal fan is saying 'OK, Steven, we GET IT, you're ACTING, now can we PLEASE MOVE ALONG?!?!?"

Still this film, and the following film 'Under Siege', probably represent the peak of Seagal's career as an action star. After this he started going downhill, getting greasier and flabbier with each new release, and each new release was more and more unconvincing and badly made than the last, until finally he seems to have bottomed out with "Exit Wounds" and direct-to-video crap like "Out For A Kill".

So if you want to watch a GOOD Seagal film, consider this one. It holds up well over repeated viewings and over the decade since it was made.

This is Steven Seagal's best movie. In it, he actually wrestles with the character he plays, and comes up with a dramatic performance that, while no Brando, is still quite believable.

This is a very violent film. It is also a very troubling film. William Forsythe - who also turns in a better than average performance - plays a lower-rung mob boss who, strung out on crack and finding his girl-friend cheating on him, turns psychotic and suicidal. Not a good mix - he starts blowing people away just because they irritate him a little.

The film is also an attempt to deal with the continuing fragmentation of neighborhood communities that were once the heart and soul of larger cities. The community is preserved, but only tentatively - the seeds of its eventual collapse have clearly been planted. The extreme violence of the film thus becomes the manifestation of a unresolvable frustration with the tensions of a community falling apart.

All this adds up to a surprisingly complex Steven Seagal action film that will haunt you long after the closing credits.

Sometimes, you're just in the mood for a good ass-kicking action movie. That is the definition of Out for Justice.

The movie is not very big on plot, although it does offer some in-sight on different back-stories, characters' pasts and several other things. We do get to know some characters pretty well, but others not so much.

Steven Seagal stars as the protagonist Gino Felino, the tough, ass-kicking cop who does things his own violent way but still has a soft side evident.

William Forsythe stars as the antagonist Richie Madano, the drug using, dirty, evil, sniveling, careless wise-guy who's violent night-long/citywide rampage has Gino chasing him all over town.

There are a lot of great action scenes, and plenty of ass-kicking by Steven Seagal for those who are into pure action. I usually like movies with a good story, but once in a while I like to kick back with a good, senseless action movie. So if you're into movies that favor action over plot: This is definitely one for you.

8/10.

****SPOILERS**** Outrageously violent, even for a Steven Seagal movie, as our "hero" Steven Seagal, Det. Gino Felino, is out looking for a coke-crazed hood Richie Madano, William Forsythe, and his not-too-bright gang who were responsible for murdering his partner Bobby Lupo, Joe Spatago, on a Brooklyn street in front of his wife and little boy. During the run of the movie Gino breaks every code of justice conduct and police department regulation on the books by busting up some two dozen hoods. Who for the most part tried to avoid the unstable and dangerous out of control policemen. Steven Seagal's Gino Felino even made the cop in the movie "Maniac Cop" look normal.

You wondered why Gino's boss Capt Donziger, Jerry Orbach, never as much as complained, much less suspended, the obviously crazed and homicidal detective and where was the citizens police review board in the movie, where they out to lunch or asleep? Even women weren't safe from the off-the-wall Gino with his brutalizing and humiliating Richie's sister Patti, Gina Gershon, and a bar girl who worked in her nightclub Terry, Shannon Whirry, who were totally innocent and had nothing to do with Bobby Lupo's murder. Even Richie's elderly parents were terrorized by the uncouth Gino even though later Gino apologized to them after the damage was already done, nice man that Gino. Like thats what it would take to make him a good guy in the movie.As for the coke-sniffing and crazy Richie he seemed to want to get caught and never made any attempt to get out of the city and just waited for the end to come partying in a hooker's apartment with his drugged out gang.

Watching Gino in action you wondered if even the Mafia would want him to work for them as a muscle man or enforcer? The Mob was far more civil professional and kinder when they dealt with the same hoods that Gino worked over in the movie.

It turned out that Gino's partner Bobby Lupo was killed by Richie for cheating on his wife by having an affair with Richie's woman Roxanne Ford, Julie Strain, and also, surprise, Bobby was a dirty cop on the take to, thats right, Richie's drug gang.

The final shoot out at Richie's "pad" was as ridicules as the rest of the movie with Gino taking on the entire Madano gang who were dangerous and armed to the teeth single handily and getting a bullet in his gut for the effort. Gino was either too crazy or stupid, or both, to bother to call the police to come to his aid. In fact it was the Mafia who came to the "rescue" after almost everyone of Richie's gang were killed.

Having it out with Richie Gino beats him to a pulp and then instead of trying to arrest the almost dead Richie drives what looks like a sharp screwdriver through his brain killing him. So much for Gino being "Out for Justice" like the movie title says.

For all his viciousness Gino did have his good points but they were at the very beginning and end of the movie. At the start of the movie "Out for Justice" Gino slams a vicious pimp against a brick wall and then throws him head-first into a car windshield. After the pimp brutalized one of his streetwalker for getting pregnant by one of her customers. At the end of the movie Gino let a guy have it who threw a puppy, that Gino later adopted, out of his moving car window by kicking him in his family jewels. As Gino and his wife walked away the puppy showed the creep who tried to kill him just what he thought of him.

This violent cop thriller begins when a Brooklyn police named Gino(Steven Seagal) is alerted when his best friend Bobby has been murdered by Richie(William Forsythe), a childhood ex-friend from old Brooklyn neighborhood. Gino tells his chief(Jerry Orbach) which he can encounter Richie and he set off in pursuit . Meanwhile,the Gino's spouse(Jo Champa) ask him the divorce . A doped Richie doesn't mind if he lives or dies and kills everybody around. The Italian mobsters are upset with him and they are looking for him, too. Richie is accompanied by his band(Jay Acanove, Robert Lasardo) taking the law on their own hands.

The film packs thrills, excessive violence, gory killing, profanity and bad language. N.Y. cop doesn't hesitate to utilize his martial arts skills as he fights violent drug dealing and battles corrupts killers and using his usual snapping wrists. This Seagal movie reveals the real-life Aikido master to be more of the Van Damme, Stallone style than the Stanislawski school of acting. Appear as secondary Jerry Orbach, recently deceased, and Shannon Whirry, a soft core star, who holds an alike countenance to Kelly Lebrock, Seagal's former wife. Furthermore, an uncredited, almost extras, John Leguizano, Raymond Cruz and Julie Strain. The Karate expert Seagal co-wrote the script, and co-produced along with Arnold Konpelson . Noisy musical score by means of synthesize, is in charge of David Marshall Frank. Director John Flynn who gave excellent performances to Tommy Lee Jones(Rolling Thunder), Robert Duval(Outfit), Jan Michael Vincent(Defiance), James Woods(Best seller), here gave credibility to Steven Seagal. The result is a strong outing for action enthusiastic.