Final Justice

Joe Don Baker is an alright to good actor in small roles here and there...he was alright in Goldeneye and made a pretty good Bond villan in The Living Daylights and has appeared in various other movies. One thing he can't do is carry a movie as the lead, which he is in this extremely bad revenge movie set in Malta. Joe Don's partner is killed so he kills the killer's brother and escorts the killer to Italy, but some guys cause the plane to set down in Malta and the killer gets away. The rest of the movie is seeing Joe Don chase the killer here and there, Joe Don getting taken into custody various times, Joe Don torturing a bartendar and being interrupted and so on. The movie is quite bad and you won't find yourself exactly pulling for Joe Don's character. You will be amazed at how many times Joe Don the hero gets taken out by one punch and how incompetent he proves to be. The crowning part of the movie comes when Joe Don chases the killer all over Malta with the killer in a priest robe and then they get in boats and he chases them all around Malta. This movie also features one of the worst closing lines to end a movie ever.

It's amusing to see that Hollywood later borrowed ideas from this film, and used it in BLACK RAIN many years later. Joe Don Baker plays a texas cop ordered to take a prisoner (venantini) back to Italy. But he escapes. Lots of action and exploitation sequences as Venantini goes crazy of some female victims. Rosanno Brazzi has a thankless role as a bad guy, and Venantini is really great as a villain. This was the last of the Greydon Clark/Baker production. The film even has a catchy end credit song. The video print is dark, and the DVD is also dark and scratchy, but I remember the old HBO print was excellent.

I can describe what I think of this movie in simple terms: a terrible movie. But that doesn't go far enough for a review. Fortunately for myself, I saw the MST version thus saving myself from any pain. This movie so deserves to be on the bottom 100 list. The dialogue to this movie is awful, much like the acting. Don't bother getting me started on the plot. Never ever see this movie unless it's the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version.

Human pot roast Joe Don Baker (MITCHELL) stars in this dull, unremarkable `action' movie as Deputy Geronimo, a fat, gassy slob who sits around in a stupid looking cowboy suit, listening to country music and eating too many donuts. Meanwhile, a vaguely criminal guy named Palermo (played by the guy who owned the drill in Fulci's GATES OF HELL) stumbles into Joe Don's territory and shoots the sheriff in a poorly edited scene. Joe Don- slowly- gives chase and offs Palermo's brother after uttering his now legendary catch phrase `It's your move. Think you can take me? Well, go ahead on'. For some reason Joe Don, a Texas lawman, must transport Palermo to Italy (`Mr. Palermo's been a major source of embarrassment to the Italian government,' says Mr. Wilson, another vague character played by Bill McKinney, who was in MASTER NINJA 1, SHE FREAK, and a lot of good Clint Eastwood movies).

Anyhoo, Joe Don's plane must land on the island of Malta, where Palermo escapes with the help of a briefcase and a guy who looks like Jon Lovitz. And that's where the movie grinds to a halt. For the rest of the movie, Joe Don looks for Palermo, looses Palermo, ends up in a jail cell, is yelled at by the Malta chief of police, and then is let go with a warning not to look for Palermo any more. Then Joe Don keeps looking for Palermo, looses Palermo, ends up in a jail cell, is yelled at by the Malta chief of police, and then is let go with a warning not to look for Palermo any more. Then Joe Don looks for Palermo, looses Palermo, ends up in a jail cell, is yelled at by the Malta chief of police, and then is let go with a warning not to look for Palermo any more. This is one aggravating movie.

At one point Joe Don is thought to be dead at sea. All the other characters wonder if he's dead or not, finally concluding that he is. But then he shows up (he was rescued by a poor family) and no one mentions the fact that he was missing at sea for several days. Even his cute, Julia Louise-Dreyfuss-esque sidekick doesn't welcome him back. She does, however, offer to help him find Palermo, so Joe Don looks for Palermo, looses Palermo, ends up in a jail cell, is yelled at by the Malta chief of police, and then let go with a warning not to look for Palermo any more.

Highpoints include, a bizarre carnival with strange colorful floats, some sexy strippers, a shoot out involving a kid dressed like Napoleon AND a cart of tomatoes, a chase scene involving a guy dressed like a monk, and any scene without Joe Don. Lowpoints include Joe Don threatening a stripper with a coat hanger.

It should be noted that this is from Greydon Clark, director of ANGEL'S REVENGE, who appears as the sheriff. Ick!

Joe Don Baker is, in my eyes, a likeable enough lug who, like many actors, happened to grow a little older and a little thicker at a time when Hollywood had no tolerance for people who weren't under 30 and/or at least 45 percent post-consumer plastic.

So wisely, Baker decided to switch from leading man roles to character roles; the big, rough-edged but likeable and honest cop roles like Mitchell and T.J. Geronimo.

Baker's work in the late 70s and early 80s remind me of that one uncle that your parents didn't like to be around, but the kids loved and who was always the first one there to help when the family was in need.

Anyways...

"Final Justice" is probably as good a movie as one could have expected from the producers of the European and kid-with-rich-parents-and-just-out-of-film-school cheap-offs that provide MST3K with so much of their schedule. Baker was believable in his role, as was his constantly frustrated yet admiring partner.

Ladies and gentlemen, I doubt highly that Joe Don Baker looked at the script and saw it as his ticket to an E! Celebrity Profile. What he did see it as was a chance to stay busy, have fun and make a few bucks. And give him credit, he always puts his all into every film he does. How many performers can truly say the same?

As hard as the MST3K gang laugh at Joe Don baker, he gets the biggest laugh of all. Their constant slaps at him are only keeping his career alive.

If it wasn't for them, how many of you would be reviewing this movie?