Urban Justice (Renegade Justice) Reviews

msmith

Member
New Review from Moviehole.net

Urban Justice (DVD)

Steven Seagal, Eddie Griffin

The latest Steven Seagal movie reminds me of my first DVD player – economically priced but bulky, too dark and rather unkind of the eyes. And yet, it still works.

Seagal, like Jean Claude Van Damme, has had a pretty rotten decade – he may still have the support of his fans, but the majors have found other boys to play with now – trimmer, younger, sexier action heroes. Like the exterior of a banana, Sir Steven was tossed to the curb quicker than you can say 'direct-to-video', with past hits like “Under Siege” all but a distant memory.

Now, the man behind three-word action classics like “Hard to Kill”, “Out for Justice” and “Marked for Death”, is strictly performing for the lounge room brigade – headlining cheap, one-note action movies; the likes of which Wings Hauser became known for in the 80s and 90s. None of them are much good – the producers have no money to play with, the storyline of each are about as captivating as watching a hyena take a dump, and predominantly, not even the star seems very excited by any of them.

Seagal seems tired in most of the movies he does these days – barely involving himself in any action sequences (Huh? A Seagal movie that doesn't feature the man doing martial-arts?) and seemingly spliced into the film after the fact (its evident that Seagal doesn't share scenes with anyone anymore and instead, they just do some cut-aways to him responding to whoever is supposed to be in the scene with him). He's there, it seems, to get his cheque and move on.

Thankfully, there's a light at the end of the tunnel for the star of shockers like “Flight of Fury” and “Submerged”.
Seagal seems a little more enthused in Urban Justice, and you can understand why – not only is he playing a character much more suited to his age, but this guy has a reason to exist (as opposed to 'Beefy Cop who owns a gun and must use it'). Its a return to the Seagal of yesteryear - well, aside from the fact he's about thrice the size of Casey Ryback these days – his character in the film is appreciably cheeky (“, relentless and, welcomingly enough, kick-ass. For the first time in... I don't know how long... Seagal actually participates in some pretty full-tilt biffo. Seems the man does still have it. The storyline too of the latest film is a lot thicker than the usual SS offering – a sort of “Death Wish” meets “Hard to Kill”, it fixes on a man, grieving over the death of his son, who heads to the Hood to take out the trash that sent his copper boy to the grave. This is the kind of vehicle Seagal's fans have longed to see him in again.

If only they'd had a few more bucks, this could've been a real treat. Seagal is good in it – at times, very good – and proceedings are kept tight, vibrant and interesting. The only downfall of the film are the production values – it looks very, very cheap, and once again, Seagal's scenes seem a little...odd. For some reason, whenever he appears on screen with someone else the room goes dark (in fact, every scene he's in is dark!), very dark. Its as if he wants to mask his larger tummy, or trick audiences into believing he was indeed performing opposite another actor - - which, going by past experience, he most likely didn't.

Eddie Griffin, playing a gangster villain of the piece, might've been better served playing a sort-of wacky sidekick to Seagal but surprisingly, he works well here.

This is a good step-forward for Seagal.... and with a few more bucks, a few more scenes not shot in a photographer's 'dark room' and a script polish here and there, he could still make a big-screen comeback. Meantime, this should keep the fans happy!

Rating : 2.5 out of 5
Reviewer : Clint Morris

And here's the link for you all :- http://www.moviehole.net/reviews/20071023_urban_justice_dvd.html
 

lee nicholson

Well-Known Member
After what seems like a thousand sub-standard euro-lensed obscure dub-fests of STV's, Steven Seagal finally goes back to basics as an unstoppable foul mouthed short-fused killing machine. And URBAN JUSTICE goes a long way to help restore this action icons credibility in the action arena, he once dominated. Seagal plays Simon Ballister, a guy with a shadowy past (but doesn't he always) out to avenge the killer(s) of his son (who happened to be a cop)....but unlike recent Seagal stv movies, this movie, rarely wastes any time with filler plots, and unwanted characters...this gets straight down to the brutal action, that his fans have been craving for. Urban Justice is an extremely brutal movie, with some really good hand to hand and kick combos from the 'Stout Sensei', as he takes on everyone, with (an almost) sadistic relish. Seagal seems interested in this one as well, and attempts a performance, but whenever the script threatens to get TOO serious, there's always a scene of carnage round the corner.

The profanity in this one is ripe (and i mean CASINO/GOODFELLAS ripe) but suitably apt, given it's theme of 'frustrating revenge of a loved one') I'd love to hear how TV stations will try to dub over this one, for a more 'friendlier' version?

Eddie Griffin is good in this one, as a would-be Tony Montana, whereas Danny Trejo gives another great performance, albeit, in one scene with Seagal (reunited 17 years after MARKED FOR DEATH)

As for the fights, it's safe to say that Seagal is just as fast as ever, and appears to be doing all the fighting (allthough quick cuts, do nothing to prove or disprove this) it's good to see Seagal getting back on track, and giving the fans what they want, and also regaining the credibility he needs.

As it is, URBAN JUSTICE is finally a movie i can show off to my mates again (haven't done that since INTO THE SUN) and hopefully MARKER can help stretch Seagal's acting chops, as much as his judo chops.

All in all, a great movie, and a welcome return for the baddest man on planet action....what took you so long Steven?

Big Lee gives this simplistic, violent revenge thriller 10 out of 10
 

DiDa

Super Moderator
Staff member
The rental releasedate for Urban Justice is November 6th 2007.
You can buy the movie on the 13th of Decemer...
 

Donald Lee Wilkey

A Steven Seagal fan
Craig Robertson;178419 said:
Plot:
Straight forward. Father seeks revenge for his son's murder. Easy to follow the plot too.

Dubbing:
Nil. All original voice in this one. :) Still has a hint of the weird accent at times that he used during his music tour. Lots of swearing too.

Stunt double:
Not visible at all.

Action:
Reasonable car chase. Fight sequences probably best since Exit Wounds. Quite a few too. They are well shot too. Not like some of the movies where they are sped up or shot too close so you couldn't see what is happening.

Co-Stars:
Did a reasonable job. Did not know most of them except Danny Trejo (who was in it for about 2 minutes!) Always thought he was a tall guy too, but Seagal towered over him.

Weirdness:
Some stupid gangsters though in this movie. During shootouts they run into a hallway filled with bodies and then get shot straight away. Extremely stupid.

Also noticed the car brake light is out near the start of the movie. Then is working again until the chase when it gets shot out. :)

Overall:
In my opinion this is a return to form. Easily better than Black Dawn, Attack Force, etc.



Bravo Craig! Excellent review of Steven Seagal's latest movie. Really enjoyed how you didn't criticize Steven Seagal's dialogue for any of that 'dubbing' bs. In my opinion, there's been way too much harassing going on about dubbing with Steven Seagal's films.
 

Administrator

Administrator
Staff member
don wilkey;179753 said:
Bravo Craig! Excellent review of Steven Seagal's latest movie. Really enjoyed how you didn't criticize Steven Seagal's dialogue for any of that 'dubbing' bs. In my opinion, there's been way too much harassing going on about dubbing with Steven Seagal's films.

That was because there was no dubbing in this movie. If there was dubbing i would rightly be critical. ;)
 

JSwales

New Member
The film marked a massive step in the right direction in my eyes for Seagal. Although the film features the most boring car chase ive ever seen, the fact that there was no dubbing and the fact that there was so much aikido/fight sequences in it made it the best Seagal movie since Belly of the Beast. The way he beat up the bad guys took me back to some of his earlier movies when he was younger, it was truely an excellent watch. I really enjoyed it. GO SEAGAL!
 

jobo

JOBO
This really was a great watch, good fights and you really wanted steve to kick the bad guys where it hurts. Excellent direction from Mr Faunt and I really enjoyed the shotouts which were as good as any blockbuster but just on a smaller scale. Here in the UK you can buy it for a tenner which is a bargain. The artwork on the cover much better than the US version which looks rubbish. If you like steve go out and get it you wont regret it. One thing it was shot with a dark look on purpose so you may have turn the brightness up on your tv. All the best.
 

rgray_aikido

New Member
Really cool film!!!! Nothing like an old school Seagal film. Lots of fights, blood, shoot outs and swearing. No dubbing, No stock footage, Good acting from everyone involved, straight forward revenge plot. Seagal really seemed interested in making this film. It was nice to see him return to the bad ass attitude that made him popular.
 
Thumbs Up - Cautiously!!!!!

Urban Justice was a good film. Had a straight A to B plot for a change that was easily understandable. Seagal was in most of the movie. His body double was spotted in only a couple of scenes. The violence was GOOD. Liked the fights. Nothing fancy. His character was filled with rage and fought like a man in the mind set would.

On the downside, the ending with Eddie Griffin was disappointing and the music made parts of the film look and sound like a lunchtime made-for-TV-Canadian drama.

Overall, easily the best film he's done in ages.

One concern though. The film probably turned out good because Don seemed to care about it. What happens if the next film is directed by a journeyman - someone just interested in a paycheck - I fear we might get Attack Force Part2 :( :( Hope not.
 

kayy911

Member
OMG, Urban Justice is just... Wow.

Urban Justice is a great movie. Great hand to hand, alright plot, good action (both hand to hand and gun.) Seagal is BACK!
 

bellyofb

Member
great film? yes its good for a seagal dtv (compared with today you die, attack force, flight of fury etc)
seagal is back? no...
 

Martin01

Well-Known Member
Staff member
bellyofb;179931 said:
great film? yes its good for a seagal dtv (compared with today you die, attack force, flight of fury etc)
seagal is back? no...

As I said Seagal needs a bigger budget, more time to film a movie (not only 19 days) and some famous co-stars like Lance Henriksen in Pistol Whipped.
 
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