Extreme Prejudice (1987) The Zombie Unit. Extreme Prejudice
John Chard
Extreme Prejudice (1987) The Zombie Unit. Extreme Prejudice is directed by Walter Hill and collectively written by John Milius, Fred Rexer, Deric Washburn and…
Extreme Prejudice (1987)
The Zombie Unit.
Extreme Prejudice is directed by Walter Hill and collectively written by John Milius, Fred Rexer, Deric Washburn and Harry Kleiner. It stars Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Ironside, Rip Torn, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe and Matt Mulhern. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti.
Well it’s a good day for a killing.
Walter Hill homages and parodies the splinter of action cinema that encompasses the grizzled law enforcer tracking the bad guy, who in this case, was once a friend. That’s the basic set up for Hill’s brooding and bloody Extreme Prejudice. Action takes place down on the US/Mexico border, Ranger Jack Benteen (Nolte) is hunting his one time pal - and the man he shares his woman’s love with – Cash Bailey (Boothe), who has taken up drug smuggling as his employment of choice. Complicating matters is that there is a gang of ex-forces specialists in the town ready to raid the bank for some funds and documents to nail Bailey. Loyalties are tested, twists, turns and bloody shocks do follow.
Much of the film’s strength is gained from the casting, it’s a roll call of macho performers who combined make up a CV with enough beef to feed the third world. Even Alonso as the sole female of note fits the requisite toughness exam (she would do The Running Man this same year and go on to star in Predator 2). Much of the narrative involves brooding and tough talk, a slow burn approach from Hill who adds some meat to the bones of the main characters. Photography is pleasing, with actual locations shimmering on the screen, and Goldsmith’s score is a pulser that is a fore runner to his score for Total Recall 3 years later.
At times it’s offbeat, at others it’s gripping in its sweaty intensity, and then there is the balletic violence which Hill has proven himself to be an astute purveyor of, crowned here by his homage to Peckinpah’s glorious finale in The Wild Bunch.
Lean and tough with bodies and butchness everywhere. 7.5/10
Read full review
★ 7 / 10
Rousing, macho entertainment.
Hey_Sweden
A stoic Nick Nolte and a charismatic Powers Boothe face off in this Peckinpah-style serving of sordid melodrama and intense bloody violence. It's a fun…
A stoic Nick Nolte and a charismatic Powers Boothe face off in this Peckinpah-style serving of sordid melodrama and intense bloody violence. It's a fun action-Western from director Walter Hill, a filmmaker often at his best when portraying tough male milieus. With story credit going to Fred Rexer and the colourful John Milius, it deliberately makes its way towards an exciting confrontation when bullets fly and countless squibs go off. This will mean that some viewers will be turned off, but others will enjoy the visceral quality of this material. Certainly one of the movie's prime assets is a kick ass cast of cool actors, not just Nolte and Boothe.
The two leads play former childhood friends now on opposite sides of the law, a familiar enough premise. Jack Benteen (Nolte) is a Texas Ranger and Cash Bailey (Boothe) is a big time drug dealer, and Jack wants to give Cash every chance to surrender peaceably. While this is going on, they fight over the affections of a saloon singer, Sarita (the very sexy Maria Conchita Alonso) and a team of mercenaries led by Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside) has their own plans that involve a bank robbery.
You know you'll have a good time when you see that Hackett's comrades are played by (among others) Clancy Brown and William Forsythe. Rip Torn makes the most of his screen time as Jack's colleague Sheriff Hank Pearson. Other familiar faces in the cast include Larry B. Scott, John Dennis Johnston, Luis Contreras, Gary Carlos Cervantes, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Marco Rodriguez, Mickey Jones, and a briefly seen Lin Shaye. Forsythe in particular tears up the scenery. The sun baked cinematography (by Matthew F. Leonetti), Texas and California locales, and soaring Jerry Goldsmith music are all credits to the movie.
The audience should be able to enjoy the twisty plot, the interplay between the two main characters, and the big finish. All in all, this proves to be a solid outing for Hill and his cast & crew.
Seven out of 10.
Read full review
82%
TOMATOMETER
· 11 reviews
60%
AUDIENCE
· 2.5K ratings
6.7/10
10.1K
•••
Thanks Freeo, awesome as usual