Out for Justice (1991) Warner Bros./Action RT: 91 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence, nudity, sexual content, drug abuse) Director: John Flynn Screenplay: David Lee Henry Music: David Michael Frank Cinematography: Ric Waite Release date: April 12, 1991 (US) Cast: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa, Shareen Mitchell, Sal Richards, Gina Gershon, Jay Acovone, Nick Corello, Robert LaSardo, John Toles-Bey, Joe Spataro, Ronald Maccone, Julianna Margulies. Box Office: $39.6M (US)
Rating: *** ½
As much as I love Steven Seagal’s debut film Above the Law, I’d have to say Out for Justice is my favorite movie of his. It’s a super-violent cop actioner starring Stone Face Seagal as a Brooklyn cop going after the crack-addicted psychopath who killed his partner in front of his family. In terms of plot, it doesn’t win any points for originality, but it delivers a lot of bang for your bucks.
Seagal plays Gino, a Brooklyn-born cop who finds himself conflicted after the brutal slaying of his partner Bobby (Spataro, The Return of Superfly) by wannabe wise guy Richie Madano (Forsythe, Stone Cold), a drug-crazed homicidal maniac who pulls a woman from her car and shoots her in the head just minutes after he kills Bobby.
On the one hand, Gino’s a cop. He knows what he’s required to do. On the other hand, he knows how things work in his neighborhood. He’s expected to stand back and let the local Mafia deal with Richie. He’s an embarrassment and they mean to kill him. Naturally, Gino is the kind of cop that likes to do things his own way. Armed with a shotgun, he conducts his own manhunt, hoping to find the killer before his Mob buddy Frankie (Richards, Fighting Back) does. He too intends to kill Richie. For the Mob, it’s business. For Gino, it’s personal.
Meanwhile, Madano continues his rampage through the neighborhood with death and destruction following his every step. He causes his family tremendous grief, especially his scumbag brother Vinnie (DeSando, New Jack City) who’s constantly hassled and assaulted by mobsters and Gino. In one truly awesome sequence, Gino makes short work of Vinnie’s pool hall and customers. He knocks one fellow’s teeth out with a cue ball wrapped in a handkerchief. There’s also a great scene in a butcher cop where Gino effortlessly takes down a bunch of goons who attack him on Richie’s orders. Yes, a meat cleaver comes into play. Then there’s the climactic shootout in which some poor dope gets his leg blown off. If nothing else, Out for Justice is extremely violent. It might be the most violent of Seagal’s movies.
One of things I admire about Out for Justice is that director John Flynn (Best Seller) attempts to elicit an actual performance from his star. Although it hardly qualifies for an Oscar, it’s Seagal’s best performance to date. Well, it’s the closest thing to a performance he’s ever given anyway. He’s a man of conflicted loyalties. He’s a dedicated cop who still respects the local Mafia don (Maccone, Goodfellas) despite their differing values. He’s also a man of comparative depth. His decision on how to deal with the current situation is made complicated by his loyalty to Richie’s father who took care of him after his own dad died. The action star gets to test his dramatic chops in the scene where he tells his estranged wife (Champa, Monkey Trouble) about his father. There’s not a lot of emotional range, but it’s more than he ever did under any other director. Still, in the end he’s still Steven Seagal, breaker of bones and ass kicker extraordinaire.
Forsythe absolutely devours the scenery as Richie, a guy too far gone to be helped. Everybody, even his own family, lives in fear of what he might do if they cross him let alone try to turn him in. Forsythe excels at playing intense characters. He’s great in Out for Justice. Jerry Orbach of Law & Order, always a welcome presence, has a nice turn as Gino’s CO. It’s also always great to see character actor Robert LaSardo (Hard to Kill) play a bad guy in one of these movies.
There is plenty of action afoot in Out for Justice. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do as a kick-ass action movie. Every few minutes, we get a scene of Seagal taking down one or several dirtbags. Whether he uses a gun or his hands, he’s a total killing machine. Even better, the people he kills in Out for Justice truly deserve it. Flynn goes the extra mile by having Gino rescue a German shepherd puppy and beat down its abusive former owner. As an animal lover, I LOVED it. Excuse me for sounding fannish, but this movie rocks HARD!
