T. Rigney (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} filmfiend) wrote,@ 2006-03-08 22:03:00 |
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Out For Justice
Steven Seagal goes Italian on your ass.
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When I was in high school -- and even in my early 20's -- I was all about Oscar-caliber films and the actors who made them possible. Sure, I still watched the occasional B-flick from time-to-time, but I was really a dramatic whore for the most part. However, as I get older, my tastes are starting to change. What I used to shun and ridicule has become first and foremost in my cinematic viewing habits. Take, for instance, the films of Mr. Steven Seagal, one of the goofiest action heroes to ever grace the big screen. And the man is STILL making movies, albeit pathetic direct-to-video ones, but it's a paycheck nonetheless. It also proves there's still an audience for Seagal's special brand of unintentional comedy and silly martial arts.
Out For Justice is easily Seagal's most violent picture to date, filled to overflowing with broken bones, bloody exit wounds, and senseless violence. It tells the sensitive story of Gino Felino (Seagal), a tough-as-nails cop who will do anything to stop Ritchie (William Forsythe before TrimSpa), a psychopath who is painting the town red...with blood. When Ritchie murders a cop and fellow friend, Gino sets out to put the hurt on this chubby killer and his boys, even if it means breaking every law in the process. He's a cop who plays by his own rules, you see, and if that means beating up witnesses, trashing businesses, or dispensing his own signature brand of justice, he's gonna bring down the bad guys. For roughly 90 minutes or so, Seagal takes charge, and cinematic history will never be the same.
The story itself doesn't make Out For Justice so tasteless. No, it's all about the execution. The first 20 minutes of the film contains enough F-bombs and violence for at least five modern-day action flicks. The bad guys are just bad guys, nothing more. They kill just to kill, fuck just to fuck, without rhyme nor reason to their debauchery. The heroic cop is no better; when a witness won't cooperate with his investigation, Gino trashes her office and trumps up charges so he can lock her up until she spills the beans. Ritchie, on the other hand, is essentially no different. When one woman asks him to kindly "move his goddamn car," he does what any courteous driver would do: He grabs her by the hair, pulls her halfway out of the car via the driver's side window, and shoots her point-blank in the head. Doesn't bat an eyelash. It's cruel, nasty, and hateful just because it wants to be. And, oh, is it glorious. Wonderful. I loved every cheesy second of it.
The film's brightest moment is during a particularly painful sequence involving a cue ball, a towel, and Seagal's brutal beatdown of everyone inside one of New York's seedy bars. It's a nasty scene, for sure, one that I secretly love to watch. The sound effects only add to the misery, but when others visit the bar several scenes later, the aftermath of Gino's rage is detailed in purple bruises, busted noses, and shattered hands. Grisly violence is always fun when it's presented in such a way, and Out For Justice wallows in its portrayal of stereotypical Italian-Americans and their blood-soaked plight. Genius? Maybe.
Amazon.com currently stocks this film for under seven dollars. SEVEN DOLLARS! Do yourself and favor and pick it up, before Warner Brothers takes it off the market completely. It's one of their early releases, so don't expect crystal-clear video or anything in the way of extras. But for a mere seven dollars, you can own what I consider to be one of the most tasteless action films ever made. I could watch it from start to finish for several days at a time, and you know what? I might have to try that, just to see what my psyche looks like after a week or so of squishy violence and terrible accents.
It's beautiful, like a big fuckin' work or fuckin' art.
Steven Seagal goes Italian on your ass.
---
When I was in high school -- and even in my early 20's -- I was all about Oscar-caliber films and the actors who made them possible. Sure, I still watched the occasional B-flick from time-to-time, but I was really a dramatic whore for the most part. However, as I get older, my tastes are starting to change. What I used to shun and ridicule has become first and foremost in my cinematic viewing habits. Take, for instance, the films of Mr. Steven Seagal, one of the goofiest action heroes to ever grace the big screen. And the man is STILL making movies, albeit pathetic direct-to-video ones, but it's a paycheck nonetheless. It also proves there's still an audience for Seagal's special brand of unintentional comedy and silly martial arts.
Out For Justice is easily Seagal's most violent picture to date, filled to overflowing with broken bones, bloody exit wounds, and senseless violence. It tells the sensitive story of Gino Felino (Seagal), a tough-as-nails cop who will do anything to stop Ritchie (William Forsythe before TrimSpa), a psychopath who is painting the town red...with blood. When Ritchie murders a cop and fellow friend, Gino sets out to put the hurt on this chubby killer and his boys, even if it means breaking every law in the process. He's a cop who plays by his own rules, you see, and if that means beating up witnesses, trashing businesses, or dispensing his own signature brand of justice, he's gonna bring down the bad guys. For roughly 90 minutes or so, Seagal takes charge, and cinematic history will never be the same.
The story itself doesn't make Out For Justice so tasteless. No, it's all about the execution. The first 20 minutes of the film contains enough F-bombs and violence for at least five modern-day action flicks. The bad guys are just bad guys, nothing more. They kill just to kill, fuck just to fuck, without rhyme nor reason to their debauchery. The heroic cop is no better; when a witness won't cooperate with his investigation, Gino trashes her office and trumps up charges so he can lock her up until she spills the beans. Ritchie, on the other hand, is essentially no different. When one woman asks him to kindly "move his goddamn car," he does what any courteous driver would do: He grabs her by the hair, pulls her halfway out of the car via the driver's side window, and shoots her point-blank in the head. Doesn't bat an eyelash. It's cruel, nasty, and hateful just because it wants to be. And, oh, is it glorious. Wonderful. I loved every cheesy second of it.
The film's brightest moment is during a particularly painful sequence involving a cue ball, a towel, and Seagal's brutal beatdown of everyone inside one of New York's seedy bars. It's a nasty scene, for sure, one that I secretly love to watch. The sound effects only add to the misery, but when others visit the bar several scenes later, the aftermath of Gino's rage is detailed in purple bruises, busted noses, and shattered hands. Grisly violence is always fun when it's presented in such a way, and Out For Justice wallows in its portrayal of stereotypical Italian-Americans and their blood-soaked plight. Genius? Maybe.
Amazon.com currently stocks this film for under seven dollars. SEVEN DOLLARS! Do yourself and favor and pick it up, before Warner Brothers takes it off the market completely. It's one of their early releases, so don't expect crystal-clear video or anything in the way of extras. But for a mere seven dollars, you can own what I consider to be one of the most tasteless action films ever made. I could watch it from start to finish for several days at a time, and you know what? I might have to try that, just to see what my psyche looks like after a week or so of squishy violence and terrible accents.
It's beautiful, like a big fuckin' work or fuckin' art.
