Out for Justice (1991)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

John Flynn

Writer (WGA):

David Lee Henry (written by)

Release Date:

12 April 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He's a cop. It's a dirty job... but somebody's got to take out the garbage.

Plot:

Brooklyn cop Gino Felino is about to go outside and play catch with his son Tony when he receives a...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Murder | Crack Cocaine | Dog | Paraplegic

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Det. Gino Felino
William Forsythe	...	Richie Madano
Jerry Orbach	...	Capt. Ronnie Donziger
Jo Champa	...	Vicky Felino
Shareen Mitchell	...	Laurie Lupo
Sal Richards	...	Frankie
Gina Gershon	...	Patti Madano
Jay Acovone	...	Bobby Arms
Nick Corello	...	Joey Dogs (as Nicky Corello)
Robert LaSardo	...	Bochi (as Robert Lasardo)
John Toles-Bey	...	King
Joe Spataro	...	Det. Bobby Lupo
Ron Brumbelow	...	Cop
Jack Cipolla	...	Cop
Chic Daniel	...	Cop (as Charles Daniel)

Also Known As:

The Price of Our Blood (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min | Germany:82 min (heavily cut) | Germany:88 min | Sweden:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:18 (video rating) (cut) | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (uncut) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 (cut) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | France:-16 | Canada:18A (re-rating) | Finland:K-15 (uncut DVD version) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

During the filming of the showdown between Gino and Richie, Steven Seagal broke William Forsythe's nose when he shoved his face into the wall of the set.

Goofs:

Continuity: The wife of the cop dead on the pavement has wet knees while standing in the shop doorway before she as knelt on the wet floor beside her husband

Quotes:

Detective Gino Felino NYPD: Whose hot dog is this, eh?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hot Fuzz (2007)

Soundtrack:

Bad Side Of The Town

Good martial arts almost make up for bad plotting, dialogue, acting and delivery

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.