(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.
18 Reviews
"How long have you been getting away with murder, boss?!"
lost-in-limbo16 March 2013
Supposedly this film when it came out caused a bit of a stir and controversy by claiming that the idea behind the premise (an elite group of LAPD cops operating outside normal police guidelines that target high-profile criminals) was inspired by facts. The idea is scary (bystanders sometimes considered necessary sacrifices), but not particularly new as it did remind me of the Dirty Harry sequel; "Magnum Force". Although this death squad were not rogues operating outside the law as in that film; well that's what they like to think in what is an official unit. "Extreme Justice" might be audacious, but what occurs is by-the-book and formulaic.
Director Mark L. Lester's mechanically brazen handling balances the tough action with the not-so black-and-white context. Some set-pieces are frenetic and raw, chucking in foot-chases, car-chases, bloody shootouts and Mark Irwin's sweeping photography. Sure it can be somewhat heavy-handed and morally bounded, but Lester keeps it reality bounded and it's the lead performance of Scott Glenn that sells it. He plays the leader of the S.I.S (Special Investigation Section) unit. Glenn's outstanding performance is lean, but also ballsy and cynical as you can see it beginning to affect him. Lou Diamond Phillips suitably plays the brash, but idealistically rough newcomer to the squad who actually begins to question the methods in how they go about getting the job done. Watching the two go at it fuelled some tension in between the set- ups after set-ups. There's good support from the likes of Yaphet Kotto, Chelsea Field, Richard Grove, William Lucking, L. Scott Caldwall and Ed Lauter as the police captain. Daniel Quinn and Andrew Divoff play some criminals. While also look for action stuntman Larry Holt and stuntman / actor Bob Minor.
"Trust me amigo. You're made for this work."
Director Mark L. Lester's mechanically brazen handling balances the tough action with the not-so black-and-white context. Some set-pieces are frenetic and raw, chucking in foot-chases, car-chases, bloody shootouts and Mark Irwin's sweeping photography. Sure it can be somewhat heavy-handed and morally bounded, but Lester keeps it reality bounded and it's the lead performance of Scott Glenn that sells it. He plays the leader of the S.I.S (Special Investigation Section) unit. Glenn's outstanding performance is lean, but also ballsy and cynical as you can see it beginning to affect him. Lou Diamond Phillips suitably plays the brash, but idealistically rough newcomer to the squad who actually begins to question the methods in how they go about getting the job done. Watching the two go at it fuelled some tension in between the set- ups after set-ups. There's good support from the likes of Yaphet Kotto, Chelsea Field, Richard Grove, William Lucking, L. Scott Caldwall and Ed Lauter as the police captain. Daniel Quinn and Andrew Divoff play some criminals. While also look for action stuntman Larry Holt and stuntman / actor Bob Minor.
"Trust me amigo. You're made for this work."
Comes on strong and rarely lets up .........
merklekranz12 August 2012
Fans of good action films will find "Extreme Justice" to their liking. What elevates this police special squad film above the competition, is the interesting and effective cast. You rarely see Scott Glenn, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ed Lauter, and Yaphet Kotto all together in one exciting movie. Ethical questions aside, "Extreme Justice" delivers the death squad justice in massive doses. If you are a fan of any of the above actors, then seek this one out, because you will not be disappointed. My only objection is that the female lead, Chelsea Field, playing a snoopy reporter, is rather bland, cold, and ultimately forgettable. - MERK
Extreme Incredulity
bkoganbing26 October 2008
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.
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.
Like a TV cop show with a little more violence; routine script, solid cast.
gridoon4 October 2004
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. (**)
Bonkers
BandSAboutMovies12 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The magic of a Mark Lester movie is that they start with a typical set-up -- Lou Diamond Philips is a young cop who becomes part of a vigilante unit -- but ends up being way better than it seems like it could ever really be.
Think movies getting delayed are a COVID-19 thing? The LA riots kept this out of theaters and it finally debuted on HBO all the way back in 1993.
The best thing about Lester's films is that he knows how to cast. Sure, he's pretty much remaking Magnum Force, but in addition to Phillips, he's got a berserk Scott Glenn talking to a photo of his dead wife while pointing a gun at it, Yaphet Kotto dressing in what I can only assume are his own sartorial choices, former Solid Gold dancer and Teela actress Chelsea Field (yes, she's also in Lester's Commando, as well as Prison, Death Spa, Dust Devil and Sleeping Dogs Lie, a movie that dares to team the drummer of Rage Against the Machine with Ed Asner), Andrew Divoff (The Djinn from Wishmaster!), Stephen Root (one of my all-time favorite character actors) and Ed Lauter (Death Wish 3).
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the producers of this movie were the subject of intense surveillance by the Special Investigation Section during the making of the film. They used a real cop bar and the real logo of the cop group, but the SIS continues to earn a high-profile arrest record without incidents like this movie.
In any other movie, Phillips and Glenn's battle would be the dramatic close, but here it's out of control, with Glenn coldcocking our hero's wife before getting launched through a plate glass window. I screamed at the TV I was so excited. You may do the same.
Think movies getting delayed are a COVID-19 thing? The LA riots kept this out of theaters and it finally debuted on HBO all the way back in 1993.
The best thing about Lester's films is that he knows how to cast. Sure, he's pretty much remaking Magnum Force, but in addition to Phillips, he's got a berserk Scott Glenn talking to a photo of his dead wife while pointing a gun at it, Yaphet Kotto dressing in what I can only assume are his own sartorial choices, former Solid Gold dancer and Teela actress Chelsea Field (yes, she's also in Lester's Commando, as well as Prison, Death Spa, Dust Devil and Sleeping Dogs Lie, a movie that dares to team the drummer of Rage Against the Machine with Ed Asner), Andrew Divoff (The Djinn from Wishmaster!), Stephen Root (one of my all-time favorite character actors) and Ed Lauter (Death Wish 3).
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the producers of this movie were the subject of intense surveillance by the Special Investigation Section during the making of the film. They used a real cop bar and the real logo of the cop group, but the SIS continues to earn a high-profile arrest record without incidents like this movie.
In any other movie, Phillips and Glenn's battle would be the dramatic close, but here it's out of control, with Glenn coldcocking our hero's wife before getting launched through a plate glass window. I screamed at the TV I was so excited. You may do the same.
Decent action thriller about LAPD corruption
ofumalow16 May 2013
Mark L. Lester has directed some of the most enjoyably trashy movies ever ("Roller Boogie," "Class of 1984," "Gold of the Amazon Women" etc.), mostly working in the low-budget direct- to-video or TV movie realm though he briefly entered the mainstream with the Stephen King adaptation "Firestarter" and Stallone vehicle "Commando." I haven't seen much of his more recent work, but always perk up when I see his name on a DVD or old VHS tape--his movies are sometimes ridiculous but they're almost always energetic and entertaining.
This is actually one of his more respectable efforts, as it's a fairly effective indictment of police corruption that was made at a time when LAPD was under close scrutiny for just that. Lou Diamond Phillips plays a conscientious (but incongruously long-haired) young police officer recruited to a special unit, teamed with his mentor Scott Glenn. They're assigned to track down serial murderers, rapists and robbers, but somehow every time they apprehend the bad guys, all the perps and usually a few innocent bystanders end up dead--the whole squad is way too trigger-happy, esp. Glenn. Phillips gets increasingly uncomfortable with this, leading to the inevitable tension (a la the later "Training Day") between cop veteran and newbie partner.
Both leads are good, the violent action is solidly handled, and the movie is less campy but no less fun than many of Lester's other films. It's nothing great, but it's a solid "B" flick.
This is actually one of his more respectable efforts, as it's a fairly effective indictment of police corruption that was made at a time when LAPD was under close scrutiny for just that. Lou Diamond Phillips plays a conscientious (but incongruously long-haired) young police officer recruited to a special unit, teamed with his mentor Scott Glenn. They're assigned to track down serial murderers, rapists and robbers, but somehow every time they apprehend the bad guys, all the perps and usually a few innocent bystanders end up dead--the whole squad is way too trigger-happy, esp. Glenn. Phillips gets increasingly uncomfortable with this, leading to the inevitable tension (a la the later "Training Day") between cop veteran and newbie partner.
Both leads are good, the violent action is solidly handled, and the movie is less campy but no less fun than many of Lester's other films. It's nothing great, but it's a solid "B" flick.
Over the Top
refinedsugar21 August 2023
'Extreme Justice' is one of those action films that teethers on a great premise. Not original, but good ground for 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 his unit, SIS (a real life LAPD unit). Tired of seeing criminals go free or get joke sentences, this squad makes it their sole purpose to put repeat criminals 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 this movie isn't content with keeping things within the realm of believability. This unit, these cops allow suspects to commit their crimes in front of them under surveillance and only move in to waste 'em after their deeds are in progress or done which puts bystanders & innocent victims at risk.
There's a lot of faces here which I'm a sucker for. You got b-movie regular 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 and Andrew Divoff make up fellow unit member cops. Stephen Root appears as 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 featuring Chelsea Field playing a integral reporter linked to a main character 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 sociopathic caricature with a badge by the end. The bum finale, ridiculous end title card. The action is entertaining, but it only gets you so far.
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 his unit, SIS (a real life LAPD unit). Tired of seeing criminals go free or get joke sentences, this squad makes it their sole purpose to put repeat criminals 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 this movie isn't content with keeping things within the realm of believability. This unit, these cops allow suspects to commit their crimes in front of them under surveillance and only move in to waste 'em after their deeds are in progress or done which puts bystanders & innocent victims at risk.
There's a lot of faces here which I'm a sucker for. You got b-movie regular 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 and Andrew Divoff make up fellow unit member cops. Stephen Root appears as 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 featuring Chelsea Field playing a integral reporter linked to a main character 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 sociopathic caricature with a badge by the end. The bum finale, ridiculous end title card. The action is entertaining, but it only gets you so far.
WOW!
cyguration22 September 2020
The low user rating on here is quite dichotomous to the actual quality of the film itself.
Not to be confused with Walter Hill's timeless action-Westerner, Extreme Prejudice, Extreme Justice is a fairly straight-to-the-point action flick that wasn't made to horde awards. It's no high-brow art piece, not by any stretch of the definition, but it is highly entertaining and moves at a rapid clip from start to finish.
I'm not going to rehash the description of the film, but I will say that story-wise it's interesting for what it is but the execution is 100% cliché. You can see the ending coming a mile away, but how it gets there is what makes it such a fun watch.
There are shootouts sprinkled all throughout the film from start to finish. There's hardly ever a dull moment. The one leading female character even manages to strip down early in the film for some not-too-gratuitous fan-service. Something that we rarely see in action movies today.
What's interesting about this film, though, is that it feels more like it came out of the late 1980s rather than the early 1990s.
There's like a checklist of typical 1980s bad-action movie tropes that the film fulfills, but it's all done in a great and entertaining way. For instance, each of the shootouts are chock-full of unconventional street weaponry, especially used by the S.I.S., squad. The results from these shootouts are always bloody and borderline gory.
In this way, Extreme Justice taps into the short-lived 1980's ultra-violence run that took Hollywood by storm before Conservative bench-warmers on the church pews and concerned Liberal Democrats took to the congressional halls to bemoan Hollywood and television's obsession with gun violence.
If you're a fan of top-notch squibbing the likes of which would make Paul Verhoeven nod in approval, and a shoot-first, ask-later style approach to the action sequences (many of which may as well have come straight out of the Death Wish series) then you're definitely going to find Extreme Justice enjoyable.
Not to be confused with Walter Hill's timeless action-Westerner, Extreme Prejudice, Extreme Justice is a fairly straight-to-the-point action flick that wasn't made to horde awards. It's no high-brow art piece, not by any stretch of the definition, but it is highly entertaining and moves at a rapid clip from start to finish.
I'm not going to rehash the description of the film, but I will say that story-wise it's interesting for what it is but the execution is 100% cliché. You can see the ending coming a mile away, but how it gets there is what makes it such a fun watch.
There are shootouts sprinkled all throughout the film from start to finish. There's hardly ever a dull moment. The one leading female character even manages to strip down early in the film for some not-too-gratuitous fan-service. Something that we rarely see in action movies today.
What's interesting about this film, though, is that it feels more like it came out of the late 1980s rather than the early 1990s.
There's like a checklist of typical 1980s bad-action movie tropes that the film fulfills, but it's all done in a great and entertaining way. For instance, each of the shootouts are chock-full of unconventional street weaponry, especially used by the S.I.S., squad. The results from these shootouts are always bloody and borderline gory.
In this way, Extreme Justice taps into the short-lived 1980's ultra-violence run that took Hollywood by storm before Conservative bench-warmers on the church pews and concerned Liberal Democrats took to the congressional halls to bemoan Hollywood and television's obsession with gun violence.
If you're a fan of top-notch squibbing the likes of which would make Paul Verhoeven nod in approval, and a shoot-first, ask-later style approach to the action sequences (many of which may as well have come straight out of the Death Wish series) then you're definitely going to find Extreme Justice enjoyable.
Must see viewing at it's extremity
videorama-759-85939131 January 2018
Here's a film that was a warm welcomed surprise. If you want to be entertained, get Mark Lester to do it. And when you have great actors like Glenn and Phillips as the leads, you know you're in for surefire entertainment. Here, it's more explosive entertainment, in a well polished and slick actioner about loose vigilante justice, only the justice here is wearing a badge. SIS is Special Investigation Section, a secret division of cops, who are out to take out the worst high profile offenders, ready at the assigned locale, for when they strike, only we have more murders than arrests. Losing his cool with a scummy piece of s..t, undercover cop, Jeff Powers (Phillips) is the latest to join Glenn's warm posse of cops, but being a witness to long time friend, Glenn's reckless actions, puts a strain on the work relationship, where soon at first hand, Jeff begins to see the real truth about this organization. The films has great shootouts and action, brilliantly staged, with no dull moment to spare. Chelsea Field, a really good actress, plays Phillip's older girlfriend, an avid reporter, out to bust this squad. The last scene, a stand off between Glenn and Phillips, where all out war is declared, is my favorite. Have to viddy this surprisingly well made film again. To bag this film, you'd have to be a bit off. Great, exciting entertainment, based on real incidents. Watch.
Extreme Justice is solid and recommended!
tarbosh220006 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Jeff Powers (Phillips) is an LAPD detective known for his aggressive streak. Rather than be a detriment to his career, it enables him to join the SIS, or Special Investigative Section, an elite team of cops given a wider berth to take down repeat criminal offenders by any means necessary. The group is led by Dan Vaughn (Glenn), a charismatic but violent man. Other members of the team include Angel (Divoff) and, as Larson, Yaphet Kotto in one of his best roles we've seen to date. As Vaughn and his ethical issues become darker and murkier, Powers, spurred on by his reporter girlfriend Kelly (Field), becomes wary and spirals into a moral conundrum - remain true to his brotherhood and its camaraderie - after all, they ARE stopping crimes, or, blow the whistle because their crime-stoppery knows absolutely no limits and at times comes with a very high price? What will Jeff Powers do? There are a lot of really good things about Extreme Justice, starting with its title. This was before "extreme" things became the norm. The SIS gets EXTREME justice. But besides that, it has a top-notch cast, and the excellence of fan-favorites LDP, Yaphet Kotto, Andrew Divoff, Ed Lauter and Scott Glenn raise the bar considerably. The movie has back-to-back scenes of awesome clichés (someone should invent a word that means "cliche" but doesn't have a negative connotation, because that's what we'd use here) - everything from a female BYC (Black Yelling Chief), to Jeff Powers being called "A Loose Cannon" - but Extreme Justice really does provoke thought, as well as conversation with whoever you're watching it with.
We talked about the fine ethical line some of the characters walk - and Powers, Vaughn and others deal with their issues in their own ways. We also talked about the nature of law and justice and things of that nature. This movie really does bring them up, which is more than you can say about a lot of other cop dramas of this type. Plus it has Yaphet Kotto dressed as a cowboy complete with hat, belt buckle and six-shooter.
The ubiquitous Ed Lauter's role here (as well as the plot of the movie) is a precursor to the great The Sweeper, 1996 (note the "Cloak and Dagger" business card), and Scott Glenn's role as Vaughn also is a precursor to another career-best role as Cole McCleary in The Last Marshal (1999). This is a manly movie about dudes who drink at bars, go to strip clubs, and shoot their guns at their steak-fueled cookouts. But this Brotherhood Movie, as we call them, has an uglier side and themes of adult peer pressure are explored. Try to imagine a cross between the TV show The Shield, The Last of the Finest (1990) and The New Centurions (1972). Now add to the mix the L.A.- based cop dramas of James Ellroy such as Dark Blue (2002) and Street Kings (2008), and you have an idea of where this movie lives.
Director Mark L. Lester, who has given us such gems as Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) and Commando (1985), delivers a refreshingly-adult drama, a far cry from the stupidity of his later Hit-man's Run (1999). Here, there are no stupid, wisecracking teens or kids.
Extreme Justice is solid and recommended.
For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com
We talked about the fine ethical line some of the characters walk - and Powers, Vaughn and others deal with their issues in their own ways. We also talked about the nature of law and justice and things of that nature. This movie really does bring them up, which is more than you can say about a lot of other cop dramas of this type. Plus it has Yaphet Kotto dressed as a cowboy complete with hat, belt buckle and six-shooter.
The ubiquitous Ed Lauter's role here (as well as the plot of the movie) is a precursor to the great The Sweeper, 1996 (note the "Cloak and Dagger" business card), and Scott Glenn's role as Vaughn also is a precursor to another career-best role as Cole McCleary in The Last Marshal (1999). This is a manly movie about dudes who drink at bars, go to strip clubs, and shoot their guns at their steak-fueled cookouts. But this Brotherhood Movie, as we call them, has an uglier side and themes of adult peer pressure are explored. Try to imagine a cross between the TV show The Shield, The Last of the Finest (1990) and The New Centurions (1972). Now add to the mix the L.A.- based cop dramas of James Ellroy such as Dark Blue (2002) and Street Kings (2008), and you have an idea of where this movie lives.
Director Mark L. Lester, who has given us such gems as Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) and Commando (1985), delivers a refreshingly-adult drama, a far cry from the stupidity of his later Hit-man's Run (1999). Here, there are no stupid, wisecracking teens or kids.
Extreme Justice is solid and recommended.
For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com
Well made but cliched early '90s action flick
udar5520 April 2022
Lou Diamond Phillips is a rogue cop who joins a secret LAPD squad of rogue cops (led by Scott Glenn with team members including Yaphet Kotto, Andrew Divoff and Ed Lauter) called the S. I. S. To help tackle criminals in the act. Amazingly, someone goes rogue. If the title didn't tell you, this is full of cliches. So much so that it could be called Cop Cliche: The Movie. That said, Lester delivers some well choreographed action scenes and the film is incredibly well made (although I did chuckle with traffic continuing as normal outside of a bank where a major shootout just happened).
Basically a spiritual prequel to Mark L. Lester's later film, The Base 2: Guilty as Charged
kingofdanerds1 June 2021
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.
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.
The Iron Law of Loyalty.
rmax30482311 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The film open with a prologue telling us that what we are about to see is inspired by a true story, and the next credit tells us that the following film does not resemble any living human being, or any dead ones either. The first scene has half a dozen members of the Special Investigation Section (or whatever), under the leadership of Scott Glenn, shooting a hold-up guy to pieces. We get the impression that these are some tough fellas.
Then there is a cut to Lou Diamond Phillips, enraged, behind the wheel of his car in a high-speed pursuit of a child-molesting perp. Phillips repeatedly bumps his car against the other -- a requirement in movies like this -- until he forces the fugitive through a plate glass window in slow motion. Then Phillips leaps from his car, pulls the bleeding perp from his wreck, and beats the unholy hell out of him before being restrained by his partner and the other newly arrived cops. A loose cannon alright, and a prime recruit for the SIS.
What the SIS does, with the complicity of the higher authorities, is follow the suspects, wait until after the crime is committed, then walk in and kill the perpetrators. It's a death squad.
When Phillips' girl friend, Chelsea Fields, a crime reporter, discovers her lover's involvement, they have an argument and he leaves their love nest. As you can see, not a lot of imagination has gone into this production, beginning with the title -- "Extreme Justice." You can, after all, have justice, but if it becomes somehow "extreme" it's no longer justice.
The conflict between Phillips and his girl friend echoes the opposing values of lovers in previous police movies -- "Bullett," "Heat," "Serpico." And it belongs to a more inclusive genre -- career vs. marriage. See reporter Kurt Russell wrestle with Mariel Hemingway in "Mean Season." Watch John Wayne try to balance his love life in military films like "Wings of Eagles" or "In Harm's Way" or "Rio Grande." Now a member of the elite SIS, Phillips is happy as a clam, but when he finally grasps what's up, he turns to his girl friend and spills the beans. She prints it. There is a final brutal fight between Glenn and Phillips. The politically correct person winds up decked.
The two leads turn in professional performances and Chelsea Fields is sexy. Yaphet Koto stands out among the squad members. The weakest performance is by an SIS member who kills a young girl by mistake and later blows his brains out. The direction is what you'd expect from a police movie built around several episodes of violence.
Then there is a cut to Lou Diamond Phillips, enraged, behind the wheel of his car in a high-speed pursuit of a child-molesting perp. Phillips repeatedly bumps his car against the other -- a requirement in movies like this -- until he forces the fugitive through a plate glass window in slow motion. Then Phillips leaps from his car, pulls the bleeding perp from his wreck, and beats the unholy hell out of him before being restrained by his partner and the other newly arrived cops. A loose cannon alright, and a prime recruit for the SIS.
What the SIS does, with the complicity of the higher authorities, is follow the suspects, wait until after the crime is committed, then walk in and kill the perpetrators. It's a death squad.
When Phillips' girl friend, Chelsea Fields, a crime reporter, discovers her lover's involvement, they have an argument and he leaves their love nest. As you can see, not a lot of imagination has gone into this production, beginning with the title -- "Extreme Justice." You can, after all, have justice, but if it becomes somehow "extreme" it's no longer justice.
The conflict between Phillips and his girl friend echoes the opposing values of lovers in previous police movies -- "Bullett," "Heat," "Serpico." And it belongs to a more inclusive genre -- career vs. marriage. See reporter Kurt Russell wrestle with Mariel Hemingway in "Mean Season." Watch John Wayne try to balance his love life in military films like "Wings of Eagles" or "In Harm's Way" or "Rio Grande." Now a member of the elite SIS, Phillips is happy as a clam, but when he finally grasps what's up, he turns to his girl friend and spills the beans. She prints it. There is a final brutal fight between Glenn and Phillips. The politically correct person winds up decked.
The two leads turn in professional performances and Chelsea Fields is sexy. Yaphet Koto stands out among the squad members. The weakest performance is by an SIS member who kills a young girl by mistake and later blows his brains out. The direction is what you'd expect from a police movie built around several episodes of violence.
Intense thriller
blackmamba999714 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A story about one of the most controversial units ever devised. The S.I.S. A rogue unit made to take out the criminal element with extreme swift justice. For many who delve into the legal system it shows just how far policemen will go to either take in their targets, or just riddle them full of bullets as the only answer to diffuse a dangerous situation. Criminals do not have honour in any sense of the word namely for the wild west theory. It's better to go out in a blaze of glory than be stuck in a prison where they get three meals, and a TV, or some chocolate tubing by a cell mate. Lou Diamond Philips plays his role as a lone wolf cop who understands the right, and wrong of what his partner (Scott Glenn) is doing but is placed between a rock, and a hard place simply for the fact that the criminals need to be put down.
Yet the price is way too high. Watching a crime taking place then giving a one warning, which leads to a shootout is why Powers (Philips) is so devastated by his crew. To see once good cops becoming the very same element in the name of justice creates a rift between he, and his team, which ultimately leads toward a showdown. Many who watched this movie often remarked at just how efficient it is to just negate the criminal altogether since it was their choice to begin with. Like the old west, where justice came in the form of a gun and resolve to use it in the face of tyrannical regimes on the streets. Agreeably I can say that many criminals do need a bullet, but more than likely there will always be innocents in the middle ground.
This was a very good film for its gritty portrayal of cops who underneath only wants peace in their city. Except to attain it they for went their humanity in order to achieve such a notion. The S.I.S. was at a time a very influential division until many of the stories that abounded from eye witnesses caused a huge upheaval in the L.A. police department. Scores of testimonies led to arrests, and sentences against those in power as well as the many police officers who got involved in such a covert squad. The shoot outs were intense, as well as the violent outcomes of each engagement. Great casting, and wonderful blue collar script that the audience could relate to for the working classes.
In many ways... crime has become a sustainable asset for those in high offices but also in key government positions. Drugs, weapons, human trafficking, and black ops are what is the norm now a days. The only thing missing are the rogue squads that had no compunction of shooting a criminal to death in order to save the tax payers monetary issues or pressures. It costs over fifty thousand dollars an inmate today to keep them inside living comfortably around those who have a better way to pull of a criminal act. It is a learning institute in itself for those who are about to be released from prison. Once out... they still have the choice of moving on, or keep going as before but with new insight from his former inmates. Perhaps today's criminal needs a new squad. And if by chance witnesses are there to see it, will hopefully evacuate the area before shooting begins. The final thing any criminal, and policeman should have is a tumbleweed rolling across the asphalt.
Yet the price is way too high. Watching a crime taking place then giving a one warning, which leads to a shootout is why Powers (Philips) is so devastated by his crew. To see once good cops becoming the very same element in the name of justice creates a rift between he, and his team, which ultimately leads toward a showdown. Many who watched this movie often remarked at just how efficient it is to just negate the criminal altogether since it was their choice to begin with. Like the old west, where justice came in the form of a gun and resolve to use it in the face of tyrannical regimes on the streets. Agreeably I can say that many criminals do need a bullet, but more than likely there will always be innocents in the middle ground.
This was a very good film for its gritty portrayal of cops who underneath only wants peace in their city. Except to attain it they for went their humanity in order to achieve such a notion. The S.I.S. was at a time a very influential division until many of the stories that abounded from eye witnesses caused a huge upheaval in the L.A. police department. Scores of testimonies led to arrests, and sentences against those in power as well as the many police officers who got involved in such a covert squad. The shoot outs were intense, as well as the violent outcomes of each engagement. Great casting, and wonderful blue collar script that the audience could relate to for the working classes.
In many ways... crime has become a sustainable asset for those in high offices but also in key government positions. Drugs, weapons, human trafficking, and black ops are what is the norm now a days. The only thing missing are the rogue squads that had no compunction of shooting a criminal to death in order to save the tax payers monetary issues or pressures. It costs over fifty thousand dollars an inmate today to keep them inside living comfortably around those who have a better way to pull of a criminal act. It is a learning institute in itself for those who are about to be released from prison. Once out... they still have the choice of moving on, or keep going as before but with new insight from his former inmates. Perhaps today's criminal needs a new squad. And if by chance witnesses are there to see it, will hopefully evacuate the area before shooting begins. The final thing any criminal, and policeman should have is a tumbleweed rolling across the asphalt.
Your not doing your job! Your covering your a**!
kapelusznik189 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** It's when overly aggressive and hot headed cop Jeff Powers, Lou Diamond Phillips, is assigned top the exclusive SIS unite of the L.A police Department that he comes top realize that his brutal tactics were humanitarian actions compared to that outfit. The SIS, that sounds a lot like the mid-east terrorist organization ISIS, is involved in letting criminals commit the most horrendous crimes like murder & rape so that they can first get the goods on them and then blow them away without trial!
It's Powers' partner and head of SIS Dan Vaughn, Scott Glenn,who orchestrates and sets up the targeted by letting them get away with literally bloody murder just so he can gun them down and keep them off the city streets, in their graves not prison cells, forever with no regards to their victims lives. How Vaughn & his boys get away with all this is by the internal affairs of the police department looking the other way by not doing anything to stop them. It's Powers who gets religious when his girlfriend L.A Chronicle reporter Kelly Daniels, Chelsea Fields, writes an expose on the death squad unit that if fact exposed him as one of its members!
***SPOILERS*** Powers soon learns that he's on SIS's hit-list and the only way to save his as well as Kelly's behind is to come clean and expose SIS to the public, the cops were no help, before it can do any more damage! To him Kelly as well as the citizens of the city. With everything now out in the wash, in SIS being exposed by the L.A Chronicle, Powers comes to see the discredited but still on the L.A police force Dan Vaughn to tell him what he thinks of him and his gestapo like police organization. The ending isn't pretty with the usual cool as a cucumber Vaughn losing it and going completely insane in trying to murder the man , Jeff Powers, who fingered him. were told at the end of the movie that Vaughn ended up shot to death in one of his set-up raids that went terribly wrong for him. As for Powers he resigned from the LAPD and is now the head of internal affairs at the city of Detroit Police Department.
It's Powers' partner and head of SIS Dan Vaughn, Scott Glenn,who orchestrates and sets up the targeted by letting them get away with literally bloody murder just so he can gun them down and keep them off the city streets, in their graves not prison cells, forever with no regards to their victims lives. How Vaughn & his boys get away with all this is by the internal affairs of the police department looking the other way by not doing anything to stop them. It's Powers who gets religious when his girlfriend L.A Chronicle reporter Kelly Daniels, Chelsea Fields, writes an expose on the death squad unit that if fact exposed him as one of its members!
***SPOILERS*** Powers soon learns that he's on SIS's hit-list and the only way to save his as well as Kelly's behind is to come clean and expose SIS to the public, the cops were no help, before it can do any more damage! To him Kelly as well as the citizens of the city. With everything now out in the wash, in SIS being exposed by the L.A Chronicle, Powers comes to see the discredited but still on the L.A police force Dan Vaughn to tell him what he thinks of him and his gestapo like police organization. The ending isn't pretty with the usual cool as a cucumber Vaughn losing it and going completely insane in trying to murder the man , Jeff Powers, who fingered him. were told at the end of the movie that Vaughn ended up shot to death in one of his set-up raids that went terribly wrong for him. As for Powers he resigned from the LAPD and is now the head of internal affairs at the city of Detroit Police Department.
Take No Prisoners!
Filmfandave9 June 2015
The story tells about an undercover L.A.P.D. anti-crime squad Special Investigative Service (SIS) headed by Detective Vaughn (Scott Glenn) whose 'take-no-prisoner' technique in crime control is being investigated by a crime reporter. Enter Detective Powers (Lou Diamond Phillips) a 'loose cannon' into his death squad. Powers, an old friend of Vaughn's whom he recommended to join the squad, deals with criminals the same way Vaughn does, so Vaughn's violent approach to dealing with target criminals gets his full support. But when one of their men broke down during a bloody stakeout, Powers begins to question his own involvement in the clandestine squad and his teammates' trigger- happy ways in dealing with the lowlifes.
The name Mark L. Lester should be quite familiar to those who grew up watching action films in the 80's. His name stuck on my mind right after watching Commando (1985). Extreme Justice is another typical example of his 'brutal' approach to depicting hardcore action sequences onto the screen. That's his trademark. Just see Class of 1984, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Class of 1999, and Night of the Running Man. This is what makes action film aficionados like me excited when seeing his work.
Besides the above average story line, another thing that lifts this film a notch is the score by David Michael Frank, which creates a brooding atmosphere throughout the film. Frank's other commendable works include Code of Silence and Above the Law.
What gives this film a slight edge over other films in the genre is that the plot provides a food for thought – about how crime in big cities should actually be dealt with by the law: through violence or what other possible ways?, and what are our responsibilities as citizens to help alleviate this increasingly unsolvable social problem?
If you like thinking-man's police thriller, peppered with violent action scenes, this may satisfy you.
The name Mark L. Lester should be quite familiar to those who grew up watching action films in the 80's. His name stuck on my mind right after watching Commando (1985). Extreme Justice is another typical example of his 'brutal' approach to depicting hardcore action sequences onto the screen. That's his trademark. Just see Class of 1984, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Class of 1999, and Night of the Running Man. This is what makes action film aficionados like me excited when seeing his work.
Besides the above average story line, another thing that lifts this film a notch is the score by David Michael Frank, which creates a brooding atmosphere throughout the film. Frank's other commendable works include Code of Silence and Above the Law.
What gives this film a slight edge over other films in the genre is that the plot provides a food for thought – about how crime in big cities should actually be dealt with by the law: through violence or what other possible ways?, and what are our responsibilities as citizens to help alleviate this increasingly unsolvable social problem?
If you like thinking-man's police thriller, peppered with violent action scenes, this may satisfy you.
A GREAT film, though ruined by Liberals!
elskootero-17 June 2014
I got a real kick out of EXTREME JUSTICE, but I knew right off that Lou Diamond Phillips' and his girlfriend's characters were going to screw, it up, and sure enough; they DID! I liked the way the SIS squad got rid of criminals and saved the taxpayer's a ton of money in the process, but that stupid reporter just couldn't bear to see criminals not getting their rights coddled, and her liberal cop boyfriend just HAD to F**K it up, and that's just what they did! I just don't see how people, even movie characters, think like those fools did. Imagine a world where criminals actually got punished for the crimes they commit! Tell that to that idiot reporter and her equally idiotic cop boyfriend. A GREAT film, except for those two bozos!
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