Justice sauvage

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.

I don't like all Seagal movies. I like this one. The script is good, the action is good. The music is above average. The only big problem I have is Seagal can't do accents. Why he tried I don't know. Could have been better. Also, why is he wearing a beret? Also, he talks to wife about his dad like he was someone else. Another thing it seems his dad went around sharpening tools on a wheel. My grandparents came from Europe. Each got a good paying job except for my mom's mom. She had 5 kids to care for.

Detective Gino Felino is a tough officer in the NYPD Narcotics unit – he is very big on justice and finds even a $3million drugs bust is not enough to stop him taking the time to beat up a cruel pimp. When his friend and partner, Bobby, is murdered in front of his wife and daughter by a drugged up wannabe mobster Richie Madano, Gino takes on his own investigation. Given an unmarked police car and a shotgun by his Captain, Gino goes 'out for justice' in Brooklyn – seeking to bring Richie in by any means necessary, even if it means putting him and many of his men in body bags to do it……

Steven Seagal films have always been the same and will always be the same – the only thing that seems to change is the dating of the film (music, co-stars, setting etc) and the man himself. Here we have a film that does just what many of his films do – pit him against a series of bad guys as he tries to right a wrong (in this case avenge a friend). So basically, if you like Seagal then it is likely that, for all their weaknesses in terms of plotting and production values, you will enjoy his early films more than his modern ones simply because the man himself is much more impressive here than he has been for years. In terms of martial arts skill he is very lean and fast, producing action scenes that lack expensive special effects but feature bone crunching moves and solid skill from Seagal (even if the bad guys help him by coming at him one or two at a time even when there's 15 of them!).

Of course in terms of plot, character and dialogue this is mostly rubbish, but very few viewers will have come to this film expecting it to be strong in these areas. The plot is not about justice – it is revenge and the film never gives this any airtime at all, focusing on bad guys being kicked instead; but when he takes a shotgun and goes out on his own the film leaves you in no doubt that he is more a vigilante with a badge than a cop who is after justice – punishment and beatings are not justice! The plot is no more than a series of fights as Gino hunts down Richie and the dialogue is very little more than some sermonising, tough talk and lots of 'where's Richie' being mumbled in a pretty forced Italian/Brooklyn accent – the occasional bit of bad ADR doesn't help either. It has the occasional good idea but doesn't do much with them as it is more interested in getting to the punch (literally). Production values are not low but they don't compare to his bigger budget things, but 'Brooklyn' looks OK and the film is never set-bound but the music has dated badly and it never feels like it cost very much.

The cast is surprisingly full thanks to plenty of good fortune in the process. Needless to say Seagal is poor when he isn't punching people: his forced accent is pretty poor and he can't make his character anymore than a two-dimensional 'angry cop' cliché. It's not all his fault, his character is lumbered with having to try and be a 'good cop' who just happens to be really friendly with all the local mobsters (except the ones that use drugs – oh, they are the bad ones!) and creates a character that seems to change totally whenever the script demands it. A chubby Forsythe can't do anything other than overact as a villain that has to be extra-bad so that he stands out as not just being another mobster – he is OK for this sort of material but if you look closely at his hands you'll see that those are not gold rings but actually pineapple rings! The support cast is a mix of well known faces in minor roles – some were famous before this film but many others have become famous since, giving the film added interest. The support includes Jerry Orbach, Gina Gershon, Julianna Marguiles (ER), Dominic Chianese (Sopranos) and a very hard to spot early role for John Leguizamo (but don't worry, he gets punched and shot!).

Overall this is not a good film but it does have plenty of good action and is proof that, for all his limitations and recent failures, Seagal was once a good martial artist and he shows it here. The fights are good and almost make up the weak acting, poorly developed plot, average dialogue and low budget but, to be honest, if you're not a fan of Seagal then there isn't a great deal here for you.

Now this is action! Out for justice is more like out for revenge on home turf. Bloody, gritty, relentless, pulpy and whispering Steven Seagal (…at his concise best). Nice, but making it work is that action maestro John Flynn is at the helm where he makes great use of the authentic Brooklyn backdrop and implements some cracking in-your-face set-pieces of Seagal harassing, causing a mess (that's property damage) and then effortlessly busting body parts. Oh it's a great sound! He even manages a few amusing wisecracks or so, although I could have heard less of his character's moving childhood stories with some sort of philosophical message, but we're just seeing the sincere reflective side of the man. Even taking time out to look after a dumped puppy, while after an elusive criminal (that he knew through childhood) that's roaming Brooklyn and who brutally killed his partner / friend in cold-blood. I guess this is to counter balance the violence… and there's a lot of it. However Seagal is overshadowed by William Forsythe's dominating, hot-headed and vicious drug fuelled gangster. Definitely one of the most insane villains put on screen and Forsythe milks out every opportunity to display it. When these two characters finally come to blows, it doesn't disappoint. Director John Flynn keeps it lean, mean and quite explosive in a familiar but well done manner, as he knows when to up the ante and to let it settle. The music soundtrack was the only thing I found to get in the way at times, trying to be hip in its flavour. The rest of the cast is reasonably good with the likes of Jerry Orbach, Gina Gershon and Julianna Margulies showing up. An entertainingly unapologetic action joint

This is one of those first few movies which represent Seagal's best. The story moves by quickly, the action never stops, and the quality is excellent.

Seagal's bombastic aikido style is a sure show-stopper. The action is so captivating that it almost renders the story unnecessary. The story consists of Seagal searching out the murderer of a friend. There are other elements to the plot, but that is the gist. It would do no good to attempt to detail the plot however, as the story is lost in a flurry of fists and knees.

If you are a fan of Seagal's bone-crunching, show-stopping, hard-hitting martial arts style, you will simply love this one.

Although this is quite pretentious and philosophically preachy, this has to be one of my absolute favorites of his older movies.

I love it!

It rates a 7.4 from...

the Fiend :.