Urban Justice (Renegade Justice) Reviews

bellyofb

Member
Kotegashi;178608 said:
Had a Japanese theatrical release, so yes it did.

Peace

i am not talking about japan (where it´s shot and where they go crazy when they hear the name seagal) or a limited release in some cinemas ;)
 

Martin01

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Into the Sun has a very good optical, and that would do well, but the story is sometimes extremly boring and full of too long dialoges, so it wouldn't do well in theaters I think.
 

seagalfan128

New Member
I just finished watching Urban Justice.

I won't go in depth because I see a lot of the reviews already posted and most of them are truly similar. I applaud LittleDragon for writing a great review, almost one I agree with 100%.

What everybody's saying about the action is true. There's quite a few scenes, although short, are very nostalgic and look very classic Seagal. Especially when he throws people around into random items and throws some high kicks ---- yes, HIGH kicks.

Besides the editing, cinematography and the pacing of the film, I really don't have much to complain about - especially being a Seagal film. The acting was obviously nothing special, but I'm almost positive none of us are looking for an Academy-Award winning performance, if that's the case, find another film. Seagal's character is the most fun of the film, everybody else is just making this film move on. There's a few supporting actors that are emphasized in this film, a few gangsters that are pretty much annoying, and two villains that aren't all that bad.

I've never seen Eddie Griffin not desperately making lame attempts at being funny....different. Let's also be happy that there aren't 20 villains!

The editing in this film is rather annoying. The car chase was editing horribly and that scene is way too dragged out. Also whoever edited this film felt the need to cut every person being shot into a dramatic slow-motion segment. If you were to slice all the death of the film together into one reel, you probably have a good 3 hours of highlight footage :p

And last but not least.....IT'S THE TRENCH COAT. Why does Seagal feel the need to wear a trench coat in California!? It is hot and annoying. Stop wearing that retched thing.
 
I was'nt impressed by Into the Sun. It was just ok and it annoyed me that people were speaking to Seagal in Japanese and Seagal spoke back in English-what the hell was that? I expected to see Seagal make a much better film in Japan and wanted to see him speak in Japanese more. He speaks fluent Japanese so why was he speaking to them in English.?
 

Mason

Well-Known Member
Kotegashi;178422 said:
My review:

One word: COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely the best he has made in many years. On this tight budget a very good Seagal movie.

Lot's of action and fights and it's all Seagal. Camera work is good, editing good, acting very decent.

Don E. Fauntleroy has been telling the truth about Seagal putting in an effort and that it would be his best movie of the last years. In my (humble) opinion this could have made theatres easily.

I'll be starting work on a trailer in the next day or so.

Peace

I totaly agree. I got the same kick from Urban Justice as I get of Seagal's old school movies :) And they put in some great neck snapping to :cool:
 
Well Ive seen the film now too and it is awesome!As the saying goes never judge a book by its cover!Same goes for this;the cover may not be great but film certainly is!I would not say this is up there with Hard To Kill or Marked For Death but from all his DTV releases Urban Justice is easily his best.Good story not unlike anything we have seen or heard before,but good and entertaining none the less!Another good thing about this latest film is Seagal once more sounding badass!Some good one liners and quips to the bad guys,he seems to have a lot more bad attitude.In the last few releases he has seemed tired almost bored.The fight scenes were more frequent and longer too.Some nice hand to hand scenes that certainly seemed to all be Seagal though I wont say Im 100% sure!Great ending too and obviously I wont give it away just say its very good!All in all a definite return to form for Seagal.This is what he does best,martial arts revenge thrillers.If Marker can match or hopefully even beat the standard set by Urban Justice then we should all be in for a pleasant surprise!And given the synopsis for Marker it certainly sounds possible!Well sorry for waffling on everyone,Ive never actually reviewed anything before but I was so chuffed with this film after so many being not so great (Attack Force!!!) that this one seemed worth typing for!So to sum up in 3 words : See This Film!(also just to add to what someone said earlier,altough I have seen this I will still buy the dvd as soon as its released!as with all Seagal and Van Damme releases if ever I see them before official release I still buy the the dvd.)
 

pold

Member
Dragon1978;178653 said:
Well Ive seen the film now too and it is awesome!As the saying goes never judge a book by its cover!Same goes for this;the cover may not be great but film certainly is!I would not say this is up there with Hard To Kill or Marked For Death but from all his DTV releases Urban Justice is easily his best.Good story not unlike anything we have seen or heard before,but good and entertaining none the less!Another good thing about this latest film is Seagal once more sounding badass!Some good one liners and quips to the bad guys,he seems to have a lot more bad attitude.In the last few releases he has seemed tired almost bored.The fight scenes were more frequent and longer too.Some nice hand to hand scenes that certainly seemed to all be Seagal though I wont say Im 100% sure!Great ending too and obviously I wont give it away just say its very good!All in all a definite return to form for Seagal.This is what he does best,martial arts revenge thrillers.If Marker can match or hopefully even beat the standard set by Urban Justice then we should all be in for a pleasant surprise!And given the synopsis for Marker it certainly sounds possible!Well sorry for waffling on everyone,Ive never actually reviewed anything before but I was so chuffed with this film after so many being not so great (Attack Force!!!) that this one seemed worth typing for!So to sum up in 3 words : See This Film!(also just to add to what someone said earlier,altough I have seen this I will still buy the dvd as soon as its released!as with all Seagal and Van Damme releases if ever I see them before official release I still buy the the dvd.)

Its very interesting,gyus where you can see it?
 

ORANGATUANG

Wildfire
Mama san;178502 said:
My question, too!!
Heaven bless him but Steven
hasn't made a decent film since
"Exit Wounds"!
I am extremely anxious to see
this "Urban Justice" or whatever
the name has been changed to!
God bless,
Mama san

Iam so glad that iam not the only one bam bozzled Mama san ...wish they would stick to the original title and not change it ...maybe they toss an coin and which ever it lands on thats it...stuffed if i know..
 

Timothy

New Member
I think the movie is a huge step forward from the last movies Seagal has made. Lots of action and fights. No obvious stunt doubles. But I have to agree with the comment about the fight scenes (a lot of them) having too many shots that were too close to see if it's really Seagal. In every fight scene there are shots where you can see it's him, but in my opinion there are too many shots in each fight scene, where you just see the hands or feet and not Seagals entire body. Therefore we still can't be sure Seagal did all of it. Which I feel is too bad, because the fightscenes and locations were cool. You can still see Seagal's got what it takes in the fights. But I would have been nothing but satisfied with the movie if the fight shad been shot in such a way that we could see his entire body and just see all of the fight.

Peace,

Wes
 

cxcelica

New Member
Having just watched Urban Justice, I will now subject you to a review

Story/Writing - The plot is extremely simple, father out to avenge the death of his son. There are no twists to the plot and the story is straight forward. The story will not win any originality awards and is quite predictable. But I am not saying that as a detriment. Its actually probably a plus for this movie. There is no confusing ex CIA plots or mysterious child kidnapping rings going on here.

Acting - Its actually decent for a DTV. Its a welcome not to have noticable dubbing, and Seagal does pretty well here. I actually enjoyed Eddie Griffin. I thought he did the crazy gangsta leader pretty well. Now would you cast him as the lead villian in a movie like Die Hard 4,no, but he works well here. The only real bad acting came from Liezl Carstens ( I believe thats her name) who played Linda. I understand she was used as a plot device to try to tell the backstory and move the plot forward at points, but it was pretty bad. As far as the dialogue, there is a lot of cursing and a lot of F bombs being thrown around. At times it gets silly, but overall I am glad its in there. It spices things up a little, and this is a movie about LA gangs.

Action/Gunfights - there is plenty of action in this movie. There is one car chase which nothing groundbreaking, but pretty good for a DTV. There are tons of gunfights and tons of blood. I do have to say it gets a little ridiculous after a while, and the bloodsplats are almost comic book like.

Fighting - Good. There are several Seagal fight scenes which are actually pretty decent. The screener that I saw however is a little dark. If the actual movie is that dark I will be a little disappointed since there are scenes where I knew there was a fight going on, but was not able to make out many of the movements. MOst notably is that it appears to be Seagal in all of the fight scenes.

Overall - If you have bought his other recent DTV's then by this one because it is a definite improvement. Its a decent mind-numbing action/martial arts movie. I would say that this movie is definitely a step in the right direction, Seagal looks better and seems to be in better shape. But if he wants that one last shot at a big movie, which I think we all want to see, he cant afford to be making small steps forward anymore in his movies.
 

compere

New Member
Well, I'll be anxiously waiting for this one to show up! Sounds like one of those Bronson Death Wish movies from years back. And I loved those. Looking forward to this new one with Seagal!!!
Compere
 

rastafari

Well-Known Member
cxcelica;178815 said:
Having just watched Urban Justice, I will now subject you to a review

Story/Writing - The plot is extremely simple, father out to avenge the death of his son. There are no twists to the plot and the story is straight forward. The story will not win any originality awards and is quite predictable. But I am not saying that as a detriment. Its actually probably a plus for this movie. There is no confusing ex CIA plots or mysterious child kidnapping rings going on here.

Acting - Its actually decent for a DTV. Its a welcome not to have noticable dubbing, and Seagal does pretty well here. I actually enjoyed Eddie Griffin. I thought he did the crazy gangsta leader pretty well. Now would you cast him as the lead villian in a movie like Die Hard 4,no, but he works well here. The only real bad acting came from Liezl Carstens ( I believe thats her name) who played Linda. I understand she was used as a plot device to try to tell the backstory and move the plot forward at points, but it was pretty bad. As far as the dialogue, there is a lot of cursing and a lot of F bombs being thrown around. At times it gets silly, but overall I am glad its in there. It spices things up a little, and this is a movie about LA gangs.

Action/Gunfights - there is plenty of action in this movie. There is one car chase which nothing groundbreaking, but pretty good for a DTV. There are tons of gunfights and tons of blood. I do have to say it gets a little ridiculous after a while, and the bloodsplats are almost comic book like.

Fighting - Good. There are several Seagal fight scenes which are actually pretty decent. The screener that I saw however is a little dark. If the actual movie is that dark I will be a little disappointed since there are scenes where I knew there was a fight going on, but was not able to make out many of the movements. MOst notably is that it appears to be Seagal in all of the fight scenes.

Overall - If you have bought his other recent DTV's then by this one because it is a definite improvement. Its a decent mind-numbing action/martial arts movie. I would say that this movie is definitely a step in the right direction, Seagal looks better and seems to be in better shape. But if he wants that one last shot at a big movie, which I think we all want to see, he cant afford to be making small steps forward anymore in his movies.

how about jade yorker(supposedly a decent up and coming actor)....he played gary and he was almost as bad as the actors used in flight of fury.
 

cxcelica

New Member
rastafari;178838 said:
how about jade yorker(supposedly a decent up and coming actor)....he played gary and he was almost as bad as the actors used in flight of fury.

You are 100% right, I completely forgot to mention that. His acting was so bad that I think he must have been trying to act bad, that could be the only explanation....he was that bad.

Another poster mentioned the lack of use of Danny Trejo, which is also a noticeable flaw. (1) He is a good actor and when you have a DTV and have a good actor, you should use him as much as you can (2) They put him on the cover giving the appearance that he has a role in the movie, and he is pretty much a cameo(although this is the least of the problems with that cover).

Finally you made a great point about that shootout scene where the dumb gang members keep running in single file through the doorway and getting shot. That was ridiculous. I mean after the six guy gets shot right in the doorway, you figure even a dumb gang member would figure not to run through the door.
 

Flashgalaxy

Cupcake
Ok... based on the reviews so far... im gonna get a copy when i see it. My dream is for Seagal collaborate with Michael Bay for a comeback high octane action thriller...
 

msmith

Member
New Review from Ain't It Cool News

URBAN JUSTICE
starring Steven Seagal

PREAMBLE

You know, there are movies, and then there are Steven Seagal movies. And you know what else? There are Steven Seagal movies, and then there are direct-to-video Steven Seagal movies. Seagal has made 13 DTV movies since his last theatrical, HALF PAST DEAD, came out in 2002. In 2003, 2006 and 2007 he was able to release three movies a year. For 2008 he already has three in progress. In 2005 he actually did four. So this is a guy who shows up in your video store almost as often as the seasons change. Which makes his DTV Era a god damn force of nature. Almost.

Personally I think he's had a hell of a DTV run, putting his weird mark on all kinds of adventures for his secret agent, mercenary, freelance covert ops and Yale professor of archaeology characters. The movies he's made are not always as competent as those made by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Wesley Snipes, but they are almost always more interesting and unusual.

Unfortunately, part of what makes them unusual is a turnoff for alot of people, because it's the weird stuff that was not intended, the goofy mistakes and shortcuts that come from low budgets, tight schedules and conflicting ideas from too many producers. For example there's the weird voice doubles. Seagal doesn't have time or doesn't get paid to come back and loop lines, so patches of dialogue here and there are dubbed in some other dude's voice. This was done most hilariously in OUT OF REACH, where we heard letters to his penpal read in voiceover by some random dude.

And there's body doubles too. Not just in the action, sometimes just to fill in a shot, you'll see some dude with a leather jacket and ponytail coming out of a door or something, but it's clearly not Seagal. (It must be one of those guys the bad guys see from behind and think it's Seagal but then they turn him around and he just gives them that look that means "just because I have a ponytail and leather jacket doesn't mean I'm the guy you're chasing.") In some cases, like SUBMERGED and ATTACK FORCE, the premise of the movie (mutants on a sub, alien invasion) was changed in postproduction, so they must need these doubles, they end up with some weird reshoots and plot elements (the poisoned water supply in ATTACK FORCE) that disappear without explanation.

Because of all the producers who get involved and come up with different ideas that they want added into the script, you usually get a ridiculously murky and convoluted plot. There's too many factions, too many doublecrosses, the goals aren't clear enough. The emphasis is all on this overly complicated plot that nobody gives a **** about, and meanwhile the simple appeal of a badass beating up mother****ers to achieve a goal (or as the goal itself) is left behind like Kirk Cameron.

And probaly most disappointing for many of the fans is the decreasing amount of action scenes, the over-reliance on car chases or shootouts between other characters besides Seagal's. Seagal's first DTV movie was THE PATRIOT, where he plays a doctor, and the climax does not involve him fighting but instead boiling a bunch of chemicals. And the fans want to be paid back for that.

ACTUAL REVIEW PART

But, my fellow Seagalogists, the state of Seagal's DTV Era is strong. I am here to tell you that Seagal's November 13th release URBAN JUSTICE has NONE of those usual problems. NO voice doubles, NO obvious body doubles, a straightforward screenplay with some good tough guy dialogue, a good performance by Seagal, TONS of action. You hear that? TONS, plural, as in at least 4,000 pounds of action. And that is not a joke about Seagal being fat, you assholes.

This is still DTV, it's not gonna win over people that aren't into this kind of ****. The music is pretty cheesy, the look is pretty cheap, some of the actors in small parts are terrible, the cover has Seagal's head hilariously photoshopped onto somebody else's body. But the story is streamlined (son is dead, wants revenge), the action is brutal and frequent and the character Seagal plays is brooding and serious. URBAN JUSTICE is the kind of movie we were dreaming of when we picked up TODAY YOU DIE thinking maybe that blunt title and ridiculous cover signalled a return to the old school Seagal style of asskicking. This is definitely his best movie since at least INTO THE SUN and I think most people will go back further than that.

Seagal's character Simon Ballister is what I would call minimalistic. They never fill in his background or say he's ex-CIA or anything. People figure he's gotta be ex-SOMETHING but he never admits it. We just know he's divorced and he's from out of town. He comes and rents an apartment above a liquor store. He's just in town for the funeral and to kill some guys.

His son was a cop, and the murder had something to do with some corrupt cops and some gangs. One gang is led by Machete himself, Danny Trejo (who Seagal put in a trunk 17 years ago in MARKED FOR DEATH). He's only in one scene. The more prominent gang leader is played by Eddie Griffin. I know, I laughed too, but I swear to Christ that Undercover Brother gives a good villain performance. He seems to mostly adlib, and I personally think he makes too many SCARFACE references, but even when he's making jokes he comes across as a menacing, sadistic little ****er.

Seagal's character is completely amoral. Well, not completely, because he gives a sandwich to a homeless guy in one part. But he has a code which requires no more or less than killing whoever killed his son. He doesn't give a **** about crime or cleaning up the streets. He calls himself "a bad man with good intentions." He calls truces with evil gangsters. But cross him and you're double-****ed. He breaks wrists, tables, walls. He does a wrestling move on a big fat guy and snaps his neck. He grabs nuts. He shoots a guy's ear off. One guy he kicks in the balls 11 times before kicking him in the face and throwing him down a flight of stairs. I counted seven fights (where he kills or knocks unconscious more than a dozen people), a car chase and two shootouts (he kills more than 20 people just in the gunfights). Sorry, no swords - it's more of a streetfighting vibe and less of the usual Asian influence.

Alot of Seagal's characters are really sarcastic, always joking around to piss off his enemies. Not this guy. His only joke is trying to bribe Danny Trejo's security for five bucks. And he has one of the most badass lines ever uttered in a Seagal picture. When his daughter-in-law sees him preparing a bunch of guns she says "You're as bad as they are!"

"No," he says harshly. "I'm a LOT ****in worse." Not like he's trying to brag. Like he's stating the cold hard facts. There's not that smugness in his voice. There's anger and pain. It's a good badass performance. And yes, it's his own voice.

The director of INTO THE SUN, a guy called mink, described Seagal to me as "a John Wayne amongst WB tv actors." URBAN JUSTICE showcases that man-from-a-different-era quality. It shows that he doesn't have to desperately chase the young people by co-starring with rappers, fighting off wire fu or facing down a 360 degree view of a CGI bullet or arrow. That stuff is all nice, but URBAN JUSTICE doesn't need it. It doesn't try to distract you with flash and gimmicks. It's open and honest: hello, my name is URBAN JUSTICE. Remember in the old days when a movie could just be about Charles Bronson as an old guy getting revenge? I am one of those movies. I'm not gonna pretend to be whatever crap the kids like in the post-MATRIX age. I am a movie where Steven Seagal kicks a guy 11 times in the balls and then throws him down a flight of stairs. If you have a problem with that, I will kick YOU 11 times in the balls and then throw you down a flight of stairs. Because that's just who I am. I'm URBAN JUSTICE.

Okay, admittedly, the movie is called URBAN JUSTICE. That does not sound like a good movie. There's no getting around that. But take my word for it. You'll try to apply for a position at the Department of Urban Justice as soon as the credits roll.

So this is a great day for Seagalogy, because the last couple have been pretty lackluster, I heard even Seagal was disappointed in them. URBAN JUSTICE is a huge leap ahead, a very enjoyable picture. Seagal has shown that he can make a good Charles Bronson type of picture. Next I think he should show that he can still make a good Steven Seagal type of picture. He's definitely got the badass side of the equation going. Now I want to see that combined with those weird touches, those quirks of personality that you wouldn't see in a Charles Bronson movie, or a Van Damme, or a Snipes, or anybody else, because only Steven Seagal would do them. Consider this equation: the brutality of OUT FOR JUSTICE + the heart on its sleeve earnestness of ON DEADLY GROUND = the future of cinema.

EARTH-SHATTERING ANNOUNCEMENT

Alot of you know I've been working on a book that would analyze all of Seagal's movies, blow the lid off of film criticism forever, force all other film critics to retire in shame, etc. I started more than 5 years ago, after getting good reactions to some Seagal reviews I wrote here and wanting an excuse to take a closer look at the connections between all those movies. It started as an interest and sort of grew into an obsession. I just thought it would be funny to take the time to do it, but the movies when watched as a whole body of work and really examined turned out to be even more interesting than I suspected. One problem though: the force of nature thing. He keeps doing these DTV movies, when do I stop? I decided to cut it off after FLIGHT OF FURY and call it the first 25 films. That seemed like a good round number.

So of course the day after I decided the manuscript was 100% finished somebody hooked me up with the URBAN JUSTICE screener. And I had to include it because it gave the book a happy ending. Finally a new Seagal picture in the tradition of OUT FOR JUSTICE, which is still Seagal's most badass movie in my opinion. People make fun of Seagal for his size and age, but I happen to think it suits him well these days. I prefer a Lee Marvin or a Charles Bronson to the shaven and oiled babies they put in action movies today. I want a guy with a face like a beaten up old shoe, a guy who has been kicked around, whose hard times have left tracks on his forehead. More than ever before the broken-in Seagal fits this role, because he's the grieving father of an adult. And we can guess more about him from the tired look in his eyes than the innuendo made about his past.

Well, now I'm happy to announce that my book SEAGALOGY is finally available at this link. In the book I go through every Seagal picture in chronological order and analyze them in even more obsessive detail than I do here, finding their common themes and trying to compute what it's all about. I also examine his two albums, his energy drink, notable TV appearances, even his cameo in Billy Crystal's MY GIANT. Yes, I watched MY GIANT. That is the kind of serious discipline and sacrifice that was put into this project. That thing is 103 minutes long.

I hope it's an enjoyable book that will make you laugh, but I also hope you know by now that I'm serious about this Seagalogy ****. It's not some smug ironic wackiness like people try to pull with Chuck Norris. I honestly hope I have come up with some new insights and will change some people's perception of Seagal's movies. If not, at least I wrote the first book to discuss Seagal's appearance on The Celebrity Guide To Wine. (Well, only in an appendix.)

To show that this is real cinema I got an acclaimed director to write the introduction. David Gordon Green, director of GEORGE WASHINGTON, ALL THE REAL GIRLS, UNDERTOW and the upcoming SNOW ANGELS and THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is a fellow Seagalogist and also happens to have a movie with a Criterion Edition. I wonder if he could help get a Criterion Edition of ON DEADLY GROUND? I should ask.

Also, I think alot of you are gonna be really thrilled to hear that I wrote it in Word with the automatic spell correcting on, so "alot" is always spelled as two words. So merry Christmas to you.

Anyway, if you would like to learn more or compare your Seagalogical theories to mine and write your own rebuttal book, consider checking out SEAGALOGY. As for URBAN JUSTICE, don't even bother with the considering, you NEED to see that ****.

thanks everybody

Vern

And the link for your viewing pleasure :- http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34507
 
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