Bullet Points: Sweet Justice

There are certain movies that you come across that call to you.  When I came across a little film titled Sweet Justice I was hooked even before finding out about the movie.  Sweet Justice didn’t even have to tell me it’s fantastic tagline, “When revenge is bitter… Justice is sweet!”  It is like they were writing that just for me. I was sold for life when within the first five minutes of the movie they have a female on male kickboxing match, with the woman winning!  They could have chimps trying to play sousaphones for the next 85 minutes and I would watch it all. How did they know that I cannot pass up a revenge flick with strong female characters as the protagonists, which is the exact makeup of Sweet Justice?

Sweet Justice tells the story of the Justice sisters, Suzanne and Sunny (Finn Carter from Tremors fame).  Suzanne has become mayor of their home town while Sunny has left and is a successful gym owner after being a special forces operator in the military.  Suzanne is not opposed to taking a few bribes to help line her pocket as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.  The main criminal element in Los Olivos County is led by Billy Joe Rivas played by the excellent Frank Gorshin, most famous for playing The Riddler.  When Rivas wants to dump toxic waste threatening the lives of the citizens of Los Olivos, Suzanne finally puts her foot down.  Sadly, that was the last time she was able to put her foot down as she was murdered.  How was she murdered you ask?  She was murdered by a dog… what a bitch!  Sunny comes back home and is intent on finding out the truth of her sister’s murder.

Now while it may sound like this may be the perfect movie based on the quick synopsis, there is one thing that I did not like about Sweet Justice.

• I did not like that even though it is one of my favorite type of action movies, I have seen this story before.  I have even reviewed the comparable movies Pushed to the Limit and Señorita Justice (Spanish for Sweet Justice?) for this site.  Except that in those movies the female leads were getting revenge on the murders of their respective brothers.  In Sweet Justice, Sunny is getting revenge for her sister.  Sunny also teams up with her former special forces unit for help.  Did I mention that her former special forces unit was an experimental all female unit?  I didn’t?  Well it is.  That is nothing like I have seen before.  You know what?  I don’t mind that I have seen similar movies before because the unique aspects of Sweet Justice make it a totally different viewing experience from anything else.

I love the uniqueness of Sweet Justice, but there is one thing that I did not like about Sweet Justice.

• I did not like that the Los Olivos County Sheriff, Steve Colton, is always carrying his sheriff baseball cap and is never wearing it.  Steve Colton also happens to be the former lover of both Sunny and Suzanne creating an interesting dynamic.  Did I mention that Steve Colton is played by the underrated and personal favorite, Marc Singer?  I didn’t?  Well he is.  Marc Singer has too much respect for himself to cover up his glorious hair with a cheap looking mesh back hat that has “SHERRIFF” on it.  Any man that can bed the Justice sisters can wear or not wear what he wants.  You know what?  I don’t mind that Sheriff Colton is always carrying his sheriff baseball cap and is never wearing it because Marc Singer can do no wrong in my book and his character has a surprise twist you might not see coming.

I can’t complain about any character played by Marc Singer, but there is one thing that I did not like about Sweet Justice.

• I did not like that the first half of Sweet Justice was all backstory and Sunny and her old unit don’t meet up until the second half.  We do get to see what happened with Suzanne and how Sunny gets the gang back together and even a training montage with her team, but it takes too long to get there.  Did I mention that the training montage features the all female team getting sweaty in the gym and adjourning au natural to the spa?  I didn’t?  Well they do.  There is nothing that gets a movie going like an all female work out session followed by a relaxing and revealing dip in the hot tub especially when the members include  Finn Carter, Kathleen Kinmont, Catherine Hickland, and Marjean Holden.  You know what?  I probably would have sat through another two hours of backstory if I knew I would get an excellent workout montage followed by an explosive action packed ending.

I can’t complain about strong female characters who are not afraid to show off their bodies, so I guess there is nothing that I did not like about Sweet Justice.

There is one thing I don’t like about a Bullet Points review and that is when there are no Bonus Bullet Points.  Did I mention that I have some Bonus Bullet Points?  I didn’t?  Well I do.  Enjoy.

• While not 100%, I am pretty sure Shawn Colvin was singing about this movie in Sunny Came Home.
• I haven’t even mentioned that Sweet Justice has the number one box office star of 1939, 1940, and 1941, Mickey Rooney.  The film came out 50 years after his prime and wasn’t at the box office, but the man still acted circles around his co-stars.
• Sweet Justice was known as Killer Instincts for the European video release.  If that sounds familiar it is because there is a video game series called Killer Instinct.  The reboot of the series in 2013 was developed by Double Helix Games.  Who produced 1992’s Sweet Justice aka Killer Instincts? Double Helix Films!  Coincidence?  That story is for another day.
• I already mentioned how this movie is familiar, but I have failed to mention that is pretty close to being an all female version of The Magnificent Seven or the original, Seven Samurai.  There is even the cringe worthy quote when the seven finally team up, “Seven of us.  Magnificent.”