Out for Justice (1991)

The gruesome murder of a Brooklyn Detective will turn the case into a personal vendetta when the deceased's best friend and fellow officer will unleash an all-out attack against a psychotic Mafia enforcer's brutal gang.

Director:

John Flynn

Writer:

R. Lance Hill (as David Lee Henry)

Stars:

Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Brooklyn cop Gino Felino is about to go outside and play catch with his son Tony when he receives a phone call alerting him that his best friend Bobby Lupo has been shot dead in broad daylight on 18th Avenue in front of his wife Laurie Lupo and his two kids by drug kingpin Richie Madano, who has been Gino and Bobby's enemy since childhood. As Gino is hunting Madano down, Gino discovers the motive behind Bobby's murder. This is when Gino's hunt for Madano leads to the showdown of a lifetime.

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Plot Keywords:

brooklyn new york city | psychopath | bar fight | stick fight | lingerie | 

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Taglines:

Steven Seagal is... Out for Justice!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for sensuality and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

12 April 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Price of Our Blood

Filming Locations:

Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,524,026, 14 April 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$39,673,161

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arnold Kopelson Productions, Seagal/Nasso Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 82 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gino drives a Chevrolet Caprice, a popular police car in the '80s and '90s.

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Goofs

When Gino takes the roller away from Richie, you see it in Gino's right hand as he pushes Richie through the window. The scene cuts to Gino, who flexes his arms to show his right hand is empty. Another cut to Richie attacking Gino, who once again has the roller in his right hand.

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Quotes

Capt. Ronnie Donziger: I'm gettin' too old for this shit, Gino.
Det. Gino Felino: I know what you mean.

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Connections

References Lethal Weapon (1987)

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Soundtracks

Shake The Firm
Written and Produced by Robert Jason and David Michael Frank
Performed by Cool J.T.

User Reviews

Seagal does it by the numbers, but still does it well

IMO, this is at once the best AND the most formulaic of Seagal's endless string of beat-'em-ups. If you like Seagal, you will love this film; if you don't, OFJ probably will not convince you.

The fight scenes have a nice, bone-crunching kinetic energy to them, the plot has something of an urgent feel to it, and the soundtrack contributes greatly to the atmosphere and mood of the proceedings. I especially liked the placement and timing of 'No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn'. This played during the montage driving scene where 'Gino' (Seagal) drives through various ethnic neighborhoods and reacts to various sights and extras - to me this was the actual highlight of the film, giving the viewer a sense of place and humanity missing from most films of this type.

There are, of course, a couple of major problems with the film that keep it from being anything more than a typical Seagal action vehicle. The first one is that 'Gino' is such an unstoppable fighting machine that you never really worry about him or whether he will be a match for the villain once he finds him. And indeed, once Gino catches up with 'Ritchie' (William Forsythe, dreadfully miscast and not especially convincing), the denouement is a completely one-sided *ss-kicking that lacks any suspense whatsoever. Gino just mows Ritchie down like winter wheat and the scene comes to an end. At least Seagal had some trouble with Tommy Lee Jones and the terrorists in 'Under Siege' and with the voodoo gangster guy in 'Marked For Death' - you got the sense that he really was in danger. Not so here.

2ndly, and probably worse, Seagal seems to have decided that he wanted to stretch himself as an actor in this movie. So the script gives the movie way too many scenes where he delivers endless monologues - no, actually they are more like oratories - in a static talking head shot filmed over the shoulder of another actor (or extra). These scenes go on for literally minutes, and bring the film to a screeching halt, because Seagal just can't pull them off. Hell I'm not sure Deniro filmed by Scorcese could pull them off, because these speeches just go on and on until even the biggest Seagal fan is saying 'OK, Steven, we GET IT, you're ACTING, now can we PLEASE MOVE ALONG?!?!?"

Still this film, and the following film 'Under Siege', probably represent the peak of Seagal's career as an action star. After this he started going downhill, getting greasier and flabbier with each new release, and each new release was more and more unconvincing and badly made than the last, until finally he seems to have bottomed out with "Exit Wounds" and direct-to-video crap like "Out For A Kill".

So if you want to watch a GOOD Seagal film, consider this one. It holds up well over repeated viewings and over the decade since it was made.