Bullet Points: Urban Justice
I had every intention of reviewing the Steven Seagal classic, Out for Justice, for this edition of Bullet Points. However, the movie was not streaming on any of the multiple streaming services available to me and for whatever the Steven Seagal Blu-ray collection I own, chose to include 1996’s Executive Decision instead of 1991’s Out for Justice.
But have no fear Seagal fans, I found 2007’s Urban Justice available on YouTube, so lets get to the Bullet Points…
- Red Flag: The movie begins with vice cop, Max Ballister, in bed with Julie, his significant other. Julie really doesn’t want Max to go into work that day, but duty calls. Even as Max is getting ready to head out, Julie is still trying to get him to stay home. I couldn’t help but think this would be the last time Julie and Max would see one another. That feeling got even stronger when Max is patrolling the city and spots some of his fellow cops making a bust that seems a bit unkosher. However, much to my surprised Max makes it home where Julie is preparing a romantic dinner for two… but Max receives a call and has to head back out! Max expecting to meet his confidential informant, instead meets his untimely demise as a car pulls up and someone shoots Max leaving him laying dead on the street in a pool of his own blood!
- On the Case: At Max’s funeral we see Julie, alongside Max’s grieving mother and in the near distance, we see Simon Ballister (Steven Seagal, Hard to Kill) watching on. Simon is Max’s dad… after the funeral, Max’s mother/Simon’s ex-wife, Irene, tells Simon she doesn’t believe that Max’s death was a random act of gang violence like the police are saying, she believes Max was murdered and she knows Simon can find out the truth and deliver some urban justice. I don’t think it is ever spelled out exactly what Simon’s profession is/was. Simon may have mentioned it, but Seagal’s dialogue was so low in this movie compared to everyone else, I could have easily missed it. From what I could glean by watching, Simon is a highly trained operative of some description, with access to information and tools that would not be available to the average joe… Simon rents a room above a liquor store in the neighborhood where Max was gunned down, a neighborhood that has been the home of the turf war between the Hyde Park Gang and the East Side Gangsters.
- Welcome Wagon: It isn’t long before some members of the East Side Gangsters take umbrage with Simon being on their turf. Simon tells them, he’s only there temporarily in an attempt to diffuse the situation, when that doesn’t work he kicks their asses Steven Seagal style… Simon then goes up to his room and looks through the information Irene got from the police and Max’s personal effects. He finds the business card of Detective Shaw in Max’s wallet, so he heads down to the police station. It just so happens that Detective Shaw was the cop charge of the investigation of Max’s death. Simon asks Shaw if he has any update on the case, Shaw does not and even tells Simon that it is a longshot that they’ll ever find Max’s killer. Simon then asks Shaw if he ever met Max and Shaw claims he never did… so why did Max have Shaw’s business card with Shaw’s hand written number on the back?!?! …when Simon returns to his apartment, he finds Gary Morrison looking through his stuff. Gary was a CI working for Max. Simon asks Gary if he knows who killed Max, Gary points Simon in the direction of El Chivo, leader of the East Side Gangsters. Which turns out to be a dead end.
- Red Herring: So why did Gary, a self-proclaimed friend of Max, send Simon in the wrong direction!?! The movie does a fairly good job making it seem like Gary is trying to protect, Isaiah, his older brother. Isaiah is trying to get into the Hyde Park Gang and is willing to do whatever the leader of the Hyde Park Gang, Armand Tucker (Eddie Griffin, Undercover Brother). That becomes clear when Tucker orders Isaiah and his buddy to kill Simon. (Did he also order him to kill Max?!?!) The attempt on Simon’s life leads to a nice little car chase that doesn’t end too nicely for Isaiah and his buddy. Now Simon’s attention is fully on the Hyde Park Gang and he is going to use some espionage tactics to learn more about their operation… including the dirty cop that is in cahoots with Armand Tucker… you guessed it, Detective Shaw!
If you are a sadist that is looking for an absolutely unwatchable Steven Seagal movie, Urban Justice is not the movie you are looking for. Seagal puts in SOME effort in this one. For me the most valuable players in the movie were Jade Scott Yorker’s Gary (who probably has the most skin in the game out of any of the characters) and Eddie Griffin’s Armand Tucker. Griffin, who has never been known for subtlety, is cranked up past 11 as the vile kingpin, Armand Tucker, delivering all of his lines loud and proud… unlike mumble mouth Seagal.
I am proud to present to you, these Urban Justice Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Face: El Chivo, the leader of the East Side Gangsters, was played by none other than Danny Trejo in what ended up being a glorified cameo. Trejo’s one scene comes after Gary sends Simon his way and the two have a sit down at Chivo’s club.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Steven Seagal shoot a dude’s ear off, then Urban Justice is the movie for you.
- AKA: Urban Justice is also known as Renegade Justice.
- Memorable Quote: “Vietnam ain’t got nothing on Compton!” – Armand Tucker
- And Justice for All: 2007’s Urban Justice joins a long list of movies that we have covered on Bulletproof Action with the word justice in the title. Some of our past justice reviews include… One Man’s Justice, Instant Justice, Backstreet Justice and another Seagal flick, Mercenary for Justice, to name a few.
