Out for Justice | 
| Director: John Flynn
Actors: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa, Shareen Mitchell
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $3.50
You Save: $9.48 (73%)
New (47) Used (58) from $2.29
Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 7001
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Full Screen, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 2
Picture Format: Array
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.5
MPN: WARD12219D
ISBN: 0790740834
UPC: 085391221920
EAN: 9780790740836
ASIN: 0790740834
Theatrical Release Date: April 12, 1991
Release Date: May 18, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
HE'S A COP. IT'S A DIRTY JOB... BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE.
Amazon.com
Steven Seagal has always been an awkward action hero. Initially, he had a certain amount of credibility thanks to his nebulous association with secret government agencies and mastery of aikido, which helped to excuse his bad acting. But as a self-righteous action hero in the vein of Schwarzenegger and Stallone (which helps to explain his bad acting), Seagal fell into unintentional self-parody faster and more dramatically than either of his two predecessors. In Out for Justice, Seagal plays Gino Felino, a Brooklyn-born cop known and respected by everyone--both good and bad--in his neighborhood. The worst of the neighborhood baddies is Richie Madano (William Forsythe), a crack-smoking killer who murders his partner and terrorizes the neighborhood. Technically, Felino is a terrible cop--touching evidence at murder scenes, stealing evidence, intimidating witnesses--but only by breaking those rules can he bring in this horrible criminal. As his soon-to-be-ex-wife discovers, he does everything because he cares too much. Julianna Margulies (ER) has a small but thankless role as Richie's hooker girlfriend, and Gina Gershon (Face/Off, Bound) has an equally thankless role as Richie's foul-mouthed, bar-owning sister. The movie plays like a vanity piece for Seagal, and in that vein, it is fascinating to watch. --Andy Spletzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 57 more reviews...
"Don't be a bad guy. Be a nice guy." June 6, 2009
H. Bala (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA)
Nowadays, in looking back at Steven Seagal in his earlier films, when he was at his remorseless aikido-smiting best, I tend to shake my head and mutter half-hearted curses at the waste of the guy (and now the waist of the guy). Seagal really should have had more crunching big screen action flicks under his belt. His first five films (Above the Law/Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, OUT FOR JUSTICE, Under Siege) were grab-you-by-the-sack thrillers. But then I guess his stiff non-acting, the habitual sameness of his roles, and his indulging in groan-inducing environmental movies finally caught up with him, and so his film career went crapcakes. Still, I remember how entertaining his early years in Hollywood were - how, in movies like 1991's OUT FOR JUSTICE, Steven Seagal showed real promise as an action star.
Keep in mind that, when popping in a Seagal opus, elements such as professional acting and multi-layered plotting are kind of discreetly swept under the rug. Seagal never was, is, or ever will be a good actor (but he makes up for it by being a good eater). We tune in to his stuff to check out the down and dirty fight scenes, to see just how brutal the guy can administer his smackdowns. Except that that was back then, when Seagal looked much more impressive, years younger, shed of a boatload of pounds, and not yet inclined to substitute his action-unfriendly elephant girth for stunt body doubles.
In OUT FOR JUSTICE Seagal plays Italian-American Detective Gino Felino of NYPD Narcotics. Gino is one of those loose cannon cats who in real life would probably be a head ache and a half to their supervisors. Of course, in this one, when Gino finds out that his partner and best pal had just been gunned down in broad daylight, he offhandedly asks his chief for an unmarked car and a shotgun - and promptly gets it. So off Gino goes on a vendetta-soaked seek and destroy hunt for crazed killer Richie Madano ("Anybody seen Richie?"). And that's pretty much the movie. There's some piddling asides thrown in, such as the local mob lord getting antsy because the crazed killer is being associated with his wise guys and, also, Gino adopts a puppy he liberates from a tied-up bag (although he then ends up leaving the dog in the car for much of the movie). In an attempt to add some color and background to his character, Seagal has Gino occasionally waxing nostalgic about his neighborhood but, sucks to say, these moments merely serve to slow the film down to an agonizing crawl.
No, there's not much in the way of redeeming values in OUT FOR JUSTICE. The acting is B-movie worthy, even if there's a smattering of recognizable names (Jerry Orbach, Gina Gershon and a pre-ER Julianna Margulies). As mentioned, the plot is shallow. A caution to the gentler souls, that eff-bombs are dropped with reckless abandon. And, if you're an Italian-American, Seagal's performance sets you guys further back than The West Side Story, in terms of stereotype. As expected, the film's rewards lie in its action sequences. There are four action set pieces - five, if you count an early pimp thrashing. Steven Seagal does his patented scowl, clenched jaw and steely glare schtick as he takes out assorted thugs and hoods in, let's see, a butcher shop, a pool hall, in his soon-to-be divorced wife's apartment, and in the murderous wackjob Richie Madano's temporary hideout. The better beatdowns take place in the butcher shop and, especially, in the pool hall (think Eddie Murphy in that bar scene in 48 HOURS, only more intimidating), and this is because Seagal makes full use of his aikido skills. Let's face it, there's just more satisfaction drawn from applying a hands-on approach when pummeling a goon. But, after those first two venues, Seagal opts to go more with his firearms, which isn't as electrifying.
In the So Shameful It's Fun Department, check out OUT FOR JUSTICE also for Seagal's spouting dialogue in Italian, for Seagal again running in that sissy style of his, and for Gino's dubious wardrobe (a beret? Dude, really?). Ending on a good note now, it's cool to hear one of my favorite Beastie Boys cuts ever "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." And, for some reason, Seagal's advice to one assailant in the butcher shop made me laugh: "Don't be a bad guy. Be a nice guy." See, occasionally, Seagal's movies do dispense words of wisdom. Steven Seagal and Aesop, it's like they're twins.
I know I've kind of bagged on this film, but I actually like it a lot. Let's say, to the tune of 3.5 out of 5 stars. This was when Steven Seagal actually looked believable as a smiter of men, and in OUT FOR JUSTICE, I really liked his cocky Brooklyn attitude (complete with the cheesy Brooklyn accent) and he even has some solid one-liners. But, unfortunately, there are reasons why he's been consigned to straight-to-video hell.
TOP NOTCH ACTION MOVIE February 20, 2009
R. Allsteadt
IF YOU ARE A FAN OF STEVEN SEAGAL YOU SHOULD LOVE THIS ACTION 'FLICK'
IT WAS THE FIRST A MANY SEAGAL MOVIES AND LIVES UP TO A DECENT STORY LINE WITH TONS OF MARTIAL ARTS BUT BE AWARE, IT DOES HAVE LOTS OF PROFANITY.
 one of seagal's finest January 26, 2009
Steven Baum
If you like steven seagal, you will enjoy this action thriller. This is one of his better action movies that has lots of action & a descent story line. For those who do not like violence, this is not for you. However, if you like seagal's brand of tough guy acting, this is one of his better movies containing broken bones & knuckle busting fights.
Blu For Justice!!! One of Seagal's best!!! December 20, 2008
Jason Pumphrey (Falls Church, Virginia United States)
This is a great inexpensive Blu title,features a nice transfer of the film as well nice sound too!!! If you have a Blu Ray player and a Steven Seagal fan,than this a great purchase,the only extra is a trailer for the film,but it's still good,and one of Seagal's best movies,action packed! A+
"Justice" Was Served, And It Was Brutal October 8, 2008
Mike Schorn (APO, AE United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As far as showing what a tough guy Steven Seagal can be, "Out for Justice" is without a doubt our hero's most intense and violent offering to date. You want Seagal to impress you? - let him put on his beret and start blowing peoples' limbs off with a shotgun. To simplify it, "Justice" is the more vulgar version of "Above the Law", with Seagal forgetting about family and friends in favor of some of his meanest action ever. If nothing, this film reminds us why Seagal is an adult's action hero, and thus effectively puts the actor's overweight, Zen-spouting personas to shame with his most no-nonsense show yet.
When policeman Bobby Lupo is gunned down in broad daylight on a shopping street by drug dealer Richie Madano (William Forsythe, "The Waterdance"), Det. Gino Felino (Seagal) convinces the authorities to let him hunt down Madano on his own, on account of having known both the killer and the victim since childhood. So begins the hunt of a lifetime, with Gino taking on anybody who gets in his way as he attempts to nab Madano before he kills again in a drug-induced rage.
As said before, the action is a bloody success - quite literally: Seagal nails an opponent's hand to the wall with a meat cleaver, knocks a guy's teeth out with a cue ball in a sling, and scores a kill with a wine opener to the head. Not enough? - well, bank on the scene where he blows off a man's leg with a shotgun to raise your eyebrows. Without flaunting it, nobody but hardened gore hounds will remain unfazed by the film's amount of violence. With that being said, the film is Seagal's first departure from using strictly aikido in his non-gun fights: there's a flip here and there, but mostly punch-kick. This doesn't mean that the hand-to-hand encounters are bad, but it's a bit disappointing for folks who were fascinated by the martial art. Still, there's a cool stick fight to keep us wide-eyed.
This is probably Seagal's best attempt at acting - as in, creating a believable character and expressing emotion convincingly: Casey Ryback may be Seagal's most well-known character, but Gino Felino is the most expressive. True, it's mostly rage that's on display, but in no other film is Seagal quite as intimidating as when he sees red at the murder of his friend. Even before the following brawl, his scene in Vinnie Madano's (Anthony DeSando, "Ciao America") is Seagal at his most menacing.
Without wanting to make them out as any less stars than Seagal, the supporting cast does a fine job, as well: William Forsythe is the most hateable villain of any of Seagal's films, Jo Champa ("The Mesmerist") is realistically feisty, Julianna Marguiles ("ER") makes the very most of her limited screen time, and Jerry Orbach ("Law & Order") is simply Jerry Orbach.
However, if there is one thing to criticize, it's the story: since the film's tone and setting is so similar to the smart "Above the Law", it would have been nice to see a bit more brains behind the violence, rather than the simple motive behind the initial murder. Also, this is the film where Seagal begins the trend of pandering to his own character too much: aside from being an unstoppable killing machine (though he gets struck and shot once apiece - a record for Invincible Steven?), he enjoys espressos in the company of old-school dons and even has the heart to rescue an abandoned puppy. While the self-worshipping isn't nearly as bad as what fans would have to put up with on a movie-to-movie basis in the future, it keeps the picture from achieving greatness.
In all, this is one fiery feather in the cap of underrated genre-director John Flynn ("Rolling Thunder", "Brainscan") and one of Seagal's very best flicks. I have no doubt that with a bigger-name cast, this would've preceded "Under Siege" as Seagal's most famous outing. Fans mustn't wait to purchase this; use it to introduce your blood-loving buddies to our hero.
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