Extreme Justice

(the following review/comment is my own personal opinion)i found this movie entertaining.it is pretty fast paced and never really lets up.it's basically about an elite group of cops whose sole purpose is to tail the bad guys and learn their routine.then the nab them in the act.this sometimes results in people being victimized so they can have an air tight case against the bad guys.but the squad becomes more of a vigilante group,taking on the role of judge,jury and executioner.the movie is apparently based on a real squad that still exists today.but the events and the characters in the movie are fictional.there is fair amount of violence in this movie and a some pretty crude language.it's a pretty standard paint by numbers action/crime drama,but i think the acting performances elevated it quite a bit.Lou Diamond Phillips and Scott Glenn are the two main actors,but there are some great supporting performances.for me,Extreme Justice is a 7/10.

Unlike what one reviewer said this is NOT a ripoff of Magnum Force. In that one Lieutenant Hal Holbrook put together his own little squad from Academy rookies to dispatch repeat offenders. In Extreme Justice this operation has the sanction from the higher ups of the LAPD. Just how far they sanction the exact methods used is open to question.

This Special Investigations Squad seems to be quite the haven for the misfits of the LAPD, those that have forgotten their first duty is protection and service. Which is why Scott Glenn thinks Lou Diamond Phillips, a detective with more than his share of beefs with Internal Affairs for excessive use of force, is perfect for the squad.

What should have sent him running from Phillips is the fact he's got a nice live-in relationship with a reporter, Chelsea Field. That one certainly threw me in this film, you'd think that Lou would be the last guy he'd try to recruit for his team.

And what his team is, is a death squad. They target perpetrators follow them and wait to catch them in the act. Then it's open season.

Extreme Justice went very overboard in trying to make a point. There sure would have been no harm in waiting for a gang of bank robbers to finish the robbery and taking them down outside. No civilians got hurt when the citizens of Coffeyville did that to the Daltons. Or waiting until three rapists finish the job before moving in. That's what were asked to believe here.

And frankly I couldn't buy it. A lot of good players get really wasted in this one.

In a plot strikingly similar to that of Eastwood's "Magnum Force", "Extreme Justice" deals with cops that take the law into their own hands and execute criminals in cold blood. The blurring of the line between law and justice, and between vigilantism and paranoia, is done here more efficiently than it was in "Magnum Force", so the movie holds your interest, despite the routine on all other accounts script and Mark Lester's unimaginative direction. The entire male cast is solid, but Chelsea Field is unconvincing as the hotshot reporter. (**)

I love it when films about these low profile organizations (like the SIS in this film or secret societies in The Skulls). Because I never heard of these organizations and I watch a film that when watching, I have the mentality of it just being a movie. Turns out these organizations exist. Well, in 1993, a little TV movie called Extreme Justice was made and it is about the SIS. Now before I go any further, research does say that this is a TV film (at least in the US) and the only lead I got was that this premiered on LifeTime which is something I highly doubt seeing that LifeTime (at least now) is geared towards women. Extreme Justice was directed by Mark L. Lester (The Base and The Base 2: Guilty as Charged). The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips (Stand and Deliver, and made appearances in 24), Scott Glenn (Apocalypse Now and The Silence of the Lambs), Yaphet Kotto (Alien and The Running Man), and Ed Lauter (Golden Years and I found out recently had an uncredited role in Talladega Nights).

Jeff Powers (Lou Diamond Phillips) is reassigned and put into the SIS. The SIS is a group of police officers who take down the worst of criminals by following them and catching them in the act. But Jeff is starting to realize that things may be going too far.

For those who do not know, Mark L. Lester would later go on and direct two films. The Base and The Base 2: Guilty as Charged. But it is the latter that I keep finding similarities between the two films. But it is this film that I like better. First off, I came in expecting some sort of buddy cop film that was violent enough that it would be allowed on television. But, it went a more serious route for the most part but still retained enough violence to satisfy my tastes (and hopefully it will satisfy the biggest of gore hounds when it comes to action movies). The whole story is a pretty generic and does nothing to stand out. It plays it safe. The whole moral conflict about killing and whatnot or just any sort of moral conflict has been done before and I cannot say I was a bit surprised by the overall outcome when it came to the end of the film. But, with that being said, it still is pretty entertaining for the most part. As mentioned before, the violence is enough for most people to easily handle and take in. The shootouts/action is pretty standard yet do not take it all as a negative. This is a TV movie (I think, unless this was a late night movie where you did not have to have anything censored) and you won't be seeing anything on a grand scale. Plus, it is the early 90's so good luck trying to get any big action on TV. The performances are actually fairly good and I usually find the best acting coming from the scenes filled with arguing. I know it sounds weird, but having tense scenes like that truly show how good these actors can be. Lou Diamond Phillips plays the long haired, young and cocky cop (and looks like he could be some bass player for some 90's rock band). A role that has been done before but I still had some fun watching him. The film flows fairly nice and does not slow down. If the film had any signs of slowing down, I would probably think that this film would have worked better as a TV show. Now, coming to think about it, it should have at some point!

Extreme Justice is nothing extraordinary but it does the job in being a TV movie. Something you turn on and be entertained by. It has some violence and good acting on top of the entertainment value.

'Extreme Justice' is one of those action films that teethers on a great premise. Not original, but good ground for fun entertainment & some thought as well. Scott Glenn, Lou Diamond Phillips and a supporting cast of known faces directed by Mark L. Lester (Commando) carry out this dark trip, but the end product is merely average in most regards.

Det. Powers (Phillips) take it too far with a kidnapping suspect and it looks like IA is going to bounce him off the force after multiple brushes with him. That is until his former partner Det. Vaughn (Glenn) calls in some favors to get him reassigned to SIS (real life LAPD unit). Tired of seeing criminals go free or get joke sentences, this squad makes it their sole purpose to put repeat offenders away for good - in body bags.

This simple idea works on the surface because everyone knows in real life the justice system ain't perfect and Phillips character acts as our moral guide traversing this dangerous terrain. Everyone wants justice served, but where does the line get drawn? That sort of shtick however it isn't content with keeping things believable. This unit, these cops will allow suspects to commit their crimes under surveillance and only move in to waste 'em after their deeds are in progress or done which puts innocent victims at risk.

There's a lot of faces here which I'm a sucker for. You got b-movie reg Ed Lauter as the Captain of the unit. He's still doing hand jesters like he did in 'Raw Deal'. While Yaphet Kotto, William Lucking & Andrew Divoff make up fellow cops. Stephen Root a news agency boss while William McNamara plays one of the criminals. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this is the second film I've seen Chelsea Field play a integral reporter linked to a main hero too.

Things get contrived in 'Extreme Justice' and then just flat out dumb which ultimately what keeps it from being better. You can see where things are going a mile ahead and Glenn who starts off as a jaded, but believable presence is no more than a sociopath caricature with a badge by the end. The bum finale, ridiculous end title card too. The action is entertaining, but it only gets you so far.