Urban Justice Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Seagal plays a man with a dark and violent past, who seeks revenge for the murder of his son.
| Steven Seagal | Simon |
| Eddie Griffin | Armand Tucker |
| Carmen Serano | Alice Park |
| Cory Hart | Max |
| Liezl Carstens | Linda |
| Kirk B.R. Woller | Frank Shaw |
| Mary Evans | Irene |
| Al Staggs | Priest |
| Jade Yorker | |
| Jermaine Washington | Rasheed |
| Brian Lucero | Benny |
| Danny Trejo | El Chivo |
| Diego Joaquin Lopez | Winston |
| Grady McCardell | Dwight Morris |
| Brett Brock | Watch Sergeant |
| Don E. FauntLeRoy |
6.20 out of 10 (552 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Seagal in the hood, his best "straight to DVD" movie!
posted on 09 Aug 2009I saw Urban Justice on the movie network.Seagal's "straight to DVD" films were not all that great(especially compared to his early classics).But the premise of this film seemed somewhat promising.Seagal in the hood messing up gang members! Urban Justice was much better than I expected it to be.It's the closest to his older films compared to the other straight to DVD ones.The old-school aikido action is back and still good! The storyline was decent unlike his other films which were somewhat boring, the story is still simplistic, just like in his early films.Seagal's son who is a cop gets murdered, so Seagal goes to his son's ghetto neighborhood looking for answers while beating on some gang bangers. He finds out who did it and vows to get revenge.Same kind of plot as his older films, however it still does not get old.One of my disappointments with this film was the ending.I'm not going to spoil it here but I really disliked the ending of this film.If you were a Seagal fan who has given up after seeing some of his bad "straight to DVD" movies, give this film a try. You will probably enjoy it, at least more than his other DTV films.
A timely reminder of why SEAGAL is still a major ass-kicker!
posted on 05 Aug 2009After what seems like a thousand sub-standard euro-lensed obscure dub-fests of STV's, Steven Seagal finally goes back to basics as an unstoppable foul mouthed short-fused killing machine. And URBAN JUSTICE goes a long way to help restore this action icons credibility in the action arena, he once dominated. Seagal plays Simon Ballister, a guy with a shadowy past (but doesn't he always) out to avenge the killer(s) of his son (who happened to be a cop)....but unlike recent Seagal stv movies, this movie, rarely wastes any time with filler plots, and unwanted characters...this gets straight down to the brutal action, that his fans have been craving for. Urban Justice is an extremely brutal movie, with some really good hand to hand and kick combos from the 'Stout Sensei', as he takes on everyone, with (an almost) sadistic relish. Seagal seems interested in this one as well, and attempts a performance, but whenever the script threatens to get TOO serious, there's always a scene of carnage round the corner.The profanity in this one is ripe (and i mean CASINO/GOODFELLAS ripe) but suitably apt, given it's theme of 'frustrating revenge of a loved one') I'd love to hear how TV stations will try to dub over this one, for a more 'friendlier' version?Eddie Griffin is good in this one, as a would-be Tony Montana, whereas Danny Trejo gives another great performance, albeit, in one scene with Seagal (reunited 17 years after MARKED FOR DEATH)As for the fights, it's safe to say that Seagal is just as fast as ever, and appears to be doing all the fighting (allthough quick cuts, do nothing to prove or disprove this) it's good to see Seagal getting back on track, and giving the fans what they want, and also regaining the credibility he needs.As it is, URBAN JUSTICE is finally a movie i can show off to my mates again (haven't done that since INTO THE SUN) and hopefully MARKER can help stretch Seagal's acting chops, as much as his judo chops.All in all, a great movie, and a welcome return for the baddest man on planet action....what took you so long Steven?Big Lee gives this simplistic, violent revenge thriller 10 out of 10
Pretty Good Flick
posted on 28 Jul 2009I think if you like bloody movie's this is one you'll love, lots of violence and some well rounded acting for those who know what to expect from a Steven Seagal film, so be prepared for some violence & some kicking (not as high as he used to kick), all & all i liked the movie, wasn't sure if i would but it held my attention and also had some surprises as you'll see, i don't wanna spoil this flick BY telling you too much, so get your popcorn & be ready to see an older fatter Steven Seagal movie that is about a man who seeks revenge for the murder of his son. It's worth seeing if your a fan of this type of movie, Karate, Gun, Fighting, Killing,Gangs, Cops (LAPD) and a 1 man army and a surprise or 2 alone the way for you, sort of suspenseful movie that should keep you watching as it did me. I'll say if you like Steven Seagal then you ought to really like this movie, maybe not his best but very good, and pretty well written & edited and nice camera work. A very well made movie as i said and I hope you'll enjoy it from what I've told you without any spoilers, I seldom write Spoiler. But you do know what kinds of movie Seagal does so this is totally a Steven Seagal that will also keep you interested in the plot with a nicely written script and I had to give It and "R" for it Violence & Language but also a "7" for the edited movie, plot, story & acting, editing, script & camera work & supporting actors (supporting rolls) like Eddie Griffin who helped hold this movie together.
A step in the right direction
posted on 22 Jul 2009This is undoubtedly Seagals best movie in many a year. Its by no means perfect but after watching some terrible Seagal movies in the last few years I was beginning to lose any hope of the big man making anything near what might be classed as entertaining. Happily Renegade Justice is something approaching the sort of film he produced in the late 80's up to the mid 90's, in that I mean some hard hitting action. The only major low in the movie was a very dodgy car chase but everything else was above par. I hope Seagal continues on this upward route and hopefully gets bigger budgets and a return to the big screen, hopefully with Under Siege III.
Seagal back in fine form.
posted on 24 Jun 2009Since 2001 life has not been too kind for Steven Seagal fans who watched him come back to the number 1 charts with the box office hit exit wounds nearly 7 years ago only to stumble with the less than stellar half past dead,and from there it was dtv jail without passing go. And if that was not bad enough the majority of his dtv films have been howlers aside from a few. Urban Justice had a lot riding against its success as most fans are jaded,but let me say that Urban Justice turned out to be his best and most violent film since exit wounds.Seagal is Simon Ballister who is attending his policeman son's funeral that was premeditated by crooked cops or local gangsters and Simon is here to simply find out who killed his son and take them to hell. We don't get much exposition on his character other than he is a man with a "dark past",and for the most part it works just fine. Eddie Griffin and Danny Trejo show up for as rival gang leaders with danny's role running about 5 minutes at best. Both men come off well.Yes.Even Eddie Griffin this time.The real surprise is the lack of stunt doubles and the fact that Seagal is doing all his own fight scenes here.Bones are broke,necks snapped,ball shot upon ball shot,maiming,and gratuitous violence for all as only Steven Seagal can deliver.There are also some nice gunfights that recall Under Siege and a really good car chase.Director Don E. FauntLeRoy does a really good job of directing this time out.As for Seagal? he is just fine here aside from a Brooklyn accent that pops into an urban drawl and back again. It kind of gets on this viewers nerves.Other than that he is totally hellbent and has that scrappy charm that we remember from the good old days is back.8/10
The return to form we've been waiting for
posted on 23 May 2009I don't usually post reviews but for this film i felt I had to, for all the Seagal fans that have suffered through his lazily shot dtv movies which have ranged from boring, downright awful to almost unwatchable-Urban Justice comes as more than just a breath of fresh air. This film is a throwback to the days when a Seagal film would spit out wanton violence for the pure sake of it; needless blood and gore simply because it could and Seagal beating people up with no mercy at all. Yes this is the film every Seagal has been waiting for, if you disliked the relatively toned down theatrics of Exit Wounds and Half past Dead and were disappointed by the glimpses of past glory in Into the Sun and Belly of the beast, then Urban justice is that remedy.Not only do you get numerous brutal martial arts set pieces, broken bones,snapped necks and blood spraying around everywhere like a Takeshi Miike picture, but Seagal takes pi**ed off stoic 'im going to kill everyone' attitude to a new level, in this movie he is a one man army mowing down anyone who is going to mess with him. He makes his characters in Marked for Death and Out for Justice seem like choir boys.Don Fauntleroy has done an amazing job of resurrecting a Seagal who seemed himself not to care where his career was going and after the shambolic last few movies he has come out with, Seagal has finally upped his game hundredfold. I would say its apparent from the titles sequence the dramatic jump in quality this movie has compared to his recent snooze fests. Sit back and enjoy, Steven Seagal is back!
just because it makes sense doesn't mean its good!!
posted on 27 Apr 2009I can understand why Stevo fans have given this a good rating because it is an easily digestible film unlike his normal messily edited attempt at action classics like Shadow Man and Submerged... I have seen all the stevo's and this is definitely just under average (subjective to Stevo films). He is trying, but there is a total lack of imagination in this film. The fight scenes are pretty unimaginative with Stevo doing a lot of donkey kicks that aren't really used in Aikido, He's to fat to do all these kicks!!! And there is a really boring car chase and an even more boring shootout at the end where he just stands still while bad guy's walk through the same door one at a time getting shot! What happened to his unique style that got everyone hooked like in Marked for Death and Out For Justice. The music is awful and detracts from what is happening in the story which is hard because there isn't much of a story at all! No no no! Even though Stevo films aren't amazing at least they usually have imagination!! I thought Submerged was better than this film its got a lot of potential in the story and some great supporting actors and action although ruined by lousy editing... Urban Justice stands out as a Stevo film because it is well edited even thought the Story and the Screenplay are really dull, it is just a breath of fresh air for Stevo fans because his films are so formulaic and this film is slightly different to his usual offering.
Unpretentious and gruesome
posted on 24 Mar 2009Steven Seagal's movies have been subject to all kinds of criticism. This criticism was often justified, but just as often it was beside the point. As far as depth of plot, quality of acting or realism go, Under Siege 1+2 are none the worse than, say, Die Hard 1-3, Rambo 1-4, Speed 1+2 or any number of office box hits that get much better ratings on this site. No action movie can be judged by the same standards as The Godfather or Blade Runner. None of the movies mentioned above deserves a rating above 5 stars by the-movie-as-an-art form-standards. (It would seem that the focus on martial arts alone will demote a movie to trash in the eyes of many, while it'll justify spending a few bucks and two hours of your time, for some others; so Speed or Die Hard get 8/10, Under Siege only 6/10.) The really annoying trait of Seagal's output in recent years is pretentiousness. I appreciate actions flicks. Life does call for that 2 hour time out with brains turned to low volume, every once in a while. What I can't stand is a movie pretending to be Metropolis, and then transporting no deeper message than "if they bug you, f**k 'em up". In addition to this trait, a number of Seagal's films actually suffer from too good, supporting actors and technical realization. The best (meaning worst) example is The Fire Down Below, which stars a whole bunch of serious actors, is beautifully shot, has an alarming message – and is constantly sabotaged by Seagal himself in his ridiculous outfit with his violent solutions to every problem. His very presence breaks up scene after scene and ruins what could have been an intelligent movie. Now, Urban Justice is completely free from these annoying traits. Supporting actors are just that – supporting, not stealing the show. The lighting is bad, but otherwise the movie is decently made, and never pretending to be more than late afternoon past time. What makes it actually interesting is, that for once Seagal dares to move beyond even the most common cliché of the action genre, the one of good against bad, right against wrong. For illustration, on to the spoiler containing part: Seagal's son gets killed, and daddy vows to kill the people who killed the son. At no point is there talk of justice. It's about vengeance for the sake of vengeance, nothing more – nothing less. Interestingly, Seagal's character describes himself as "a bad man with good intentions" and responds to the accusation of being "just as bad as the others (the murderers)" by saying that he is actually "a mother**king lot worse". To really rub it in, at the very end of the movie, after having killed everybody even remotely involved in his son's killing, he lets a major drug dealer go free, because "I came to do one thing, and I did it. I have no beef with you" (note that this is an almost quote: Muhammad Ali famously refused to go to Vietnam because he had "no beef with them Viet Cong"). In another instant of obvious departure from the good-bad-dichotomy, Seagal arbitrarily breaks an unconscious opponent's neck, apparently because he feels like it and to show he's serious. Taken together, this makes for not only the least pretentious Steven Seagal movie, but for one of the least pretentious actions flicks I have ever seen. It is full of nasty,gruesome hand to hand combat which maintains a high level of realism at almost) all times, it's got tremendous shoot-outs (every shot a shot through, for better blood spray) and an overall feel of darkness and depravity that I find – sorry to say, it, almost – refreshing in the genre. Recommend entertainment for any action fan, but also for many an independent fan.
"Before setting out on revenge,first dig 784 graves.........."
posted on 16 Mar 2009Welcome back to the world of Wile E. Coyote.This is great stuff,Steve,I haven't laughed so much at a movie since your masterpiece "Under Siege". Honestly,I loved "Urban Justice.Here's the Stevester at his fearsome best - really p*ssed off at a bunch of homeys he suspects might have had something to do with the murder of his hero - cop (natch) son. There's a top gangsta (Mr E.Griffin)who looks like Little Richard yet wears a headscarf Dot Cotton might covet and clearly,from his conversation,considers most men to have been the victims of some appalling Freudian sexual trauma in their past.He's quite tough,indeed tough enough to use the "N" word to his underlings when the mood is on him.He also uses racial slurs towards the Stevester,but he's got broad shoulders and knows that sticks and stones may break his bones but words will never hurt him. There's a bad cop who's handy with a B.A.R.but Big Steve has truth and justice on his side(natch,again)and only needs a B.A. Countless Boys from the 'Hood bite the dust as Steve kills 'em all,happy to let God sort 'em out.None of them was actually responsible for his son's murder,but hey,let's not get picky here............. In short,"Urban Justice" is a hugely enjoyable movie that Mr Seagal's admirers should knock down the doors of the local Rental Store to get to.However,they should try to avoid screaming "die,motherf*cker!" at the assistant before blowing him away.
A shining light amongst Seagal's recent straight-to-DVD tripe.
posted on 23 Jan 2009Urban Justice starts as Los Angeles cop Max Ballister (Cory Hart) is shot & killed in an apparent drive-by gang related shooting. Max's father & all round hard as nails ex-cop Simon (producer Steven Seagal) is obviously upset about his son's premature & violent demise & decides someone is going to pay. Simon rents out a dump of an apartment in a gang controlled neighbourhood & sets about beating the crap out of every lowlife, drug pusher & gang member around until he gets the information he wants. Eventually he finds out who killed his boy, he gets himself tooled up with lots of guns & sets out to kill the shooter & anyone who gets in his way...Known as Renegade Justice here in the UK this was photographed & directed by Don E. FauntLeRoy who again teams up with washed-up action star Seagal for the third time after the pair had previously made the equally terrible Today You Die (2005) & Mercenary for Justice (2006), well it seems that it's third time lucky for FauntLeRoy & Seagal as I have to say I thought Urban Justice wasn't too bad an effort at all & certainly a lot better than most of the straight-to-video/DVD abominations Seagal has starred in over the past few years. The script is a fairly routine action revenge thriller, it's nowhere near as gritty as say a vigilante thriller like Death Wish (1974) or as exciting as some of Seagal's earlier bigger budget films like the two Under Siege flicks but for what it was & what I had expected I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is your basic 'one man army' seeks justice & revenge after someone he is close to is murdered as Seagal is pitted against the drug dealers & gangs of Los Angeles who are rather stereotypically all black & carry guns. The scenes of Seagal & these gang members facing off trying to look & sound cool as they try to out swear each other are quite funny. There's plenty of fights, shoot-outs & bad language to keep one entertained & pass the time but the story is predictable & if I am honest pretty weak.In these politically correct & overly sensitive times it's interesting to note that the black character's make several racist slurs against Seagal (calling him a 'white boy', etc.) & the other Caucasian character's yet not one single racist or derogatory term towards a black character is uttered by a white one. The action is mostly confined to some rather good fights, this is Seagal of old breaking arms, kicking, punching & generally hurting the bad guy's. There's several shoot-outs too with a particularly gory one at the end. There's an attempt at a car chase but on a limited budget it doesn't look that great. I wasn't keen on some of the choices made by the makers, in particularly the use of slow motion at points that seem totally random. Apparenty Urban Justice almost got a theatrical release.With a supposed budget of about $12,000,000 this has pretty good production values & is well made. The acting is average really, Seagal mumbles his way through his part as usual & I think it's looks like he's lost some of that weight & he's more believable in this as a result.Urban Justice is not any sort of masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination & isn't even in the top five Seagal films but it did pass ninety odd minutes harmlessly enough & entertained me in the process. Much better than I had expected & the best film Seagal has made in years.
Seagal fans rejoice, the old-school hardcore Seagal has returned!!!!!
posted on 21 Jan 2009To begin, I know that all loyal Seagal fans, including myself, began to lose faith in the big guy on account of the last few dtv movies he has churned out (namely Attack Force, Flight of Fury, Black Dawn, Shadow Man). The reason for this was the constant use of stunt and fight doubles, un-inspired fight sequences, the use of not-even-close-to-sounding-like-him voice dubbing and the lack of continuity.That was then, and when all hope seemed to be lost, Urban Justice graces the video store. Let me say this now, every Steven Seagal fan needs to go and rent this for the sheer proof that he has returned to absolute top form and then some. The movie is loaded with martial arts sequences, and here's the best part, Seagal does 100% of his fights!! Voice dubbing is completely absent and he actually looks like he is enjoying himself in this one. Supporting Seagal is comedian Eddie Griffin, who is perfectly cast as the villain and provides some genuine laughs at times.I know that the steep decline in quality in Seagal's movies has upset hardcore and loyal fans to the point of almost no return (I was almost there myself), but I need to stress that not since his Out For Justice days has there been the sheer brutality present in his movies. I can say with all honesty that Urban Justice is up to par in terms of the graphic violence and tough guy antics. Seagal dishes out punishment like I have never seen before, he is absolutely ruthless and savage during the fight scenes.All I can say is give it a try because you certainly will not be disappointed, the old-school hardcore Seagal that we all love and have eagerly awaited for has finally returned!!
Another crap movie from Seagal
posted on 21 Jan 2009Steven Seagal is back as a dad who seeks revenge for his killed son. He wants justice to be done. It sounds like a new Death Wish movie supplied with some kung fu, and that is what it probably was supposed to be.It could have been a decent movie, but it really fails in almost every aspect. The acting is as you could expect in a Steven Seagal movie, but the fight scenes are way below the quality in movies like the two Under Siege movies. It seems like that Steven Seagal is either too old or too unfit to perform action like in the old days. Instead he is always standing and just lifting a leg or punching. Therefore the fight scenes are also very short and cut in a quick way, so we do not see how old and slow the action star is today. We also have a car chase in the movie, but it is really not worth mentioning. The pursuit is slow, and at times you can see that the picture has been accelerated so it looks faster than it really is.The story is also pretty simple and straight forward, but the script is not what you would consider Oscar material. It is of course not what you expect from a Seagal movie, but it could at least have been a bit better. Well, it is not.There was a time where you could find something good in a Steven Seagal movie, but those days are over. Today his movies are just as bad as the worst from Van Damme and Chuck Norris. It is a shame, but maybe Lord Steven should consider retiring and instead focus on his music.
Cheaply made film with little to offer to anyone not a die-hard Seagal fans
posted on 17 Jan 2009When Max Ballister photographs something strange happening during a backstreet police bust, he winds up gunned down the very same day. At his funeral, Max's mother reaches out to his estranged father, Simon, to try and help bring the killers to justice. Simon, a former black ops member rents a dirty apartment in the ghetto where his son was murdered and begins turning over gang rocks looking for the killer. Max quickly gets himself waist deep in suspects and enemies but finds things to be more complex than they appear.I didn't expect much from this film even though JCVD had suggested that perhaps redemption for the 90's b-grade action stars is only one good film away – somehow I didn't think that Seagal's recent Urban Justice would be the film where he delivers up something entirely new to me. And typically the film didn't disappoint me in my expectations because I expected little and little is just what the film delivers. The story is a simply revenge story where Seagal wades through drug dealer and gang-banger clichés on the way to justice in the ghetto (hence the title see?). The plot is straightforward and predictable and essentially runs like – talking bit, punching bit, dull talking bit, car chase, talking bit, gun play, talking bit, talking bit, punching etc etc. Naturally the talking bits are poor as they have little in the way of complexity and even less in the way of good dialogue or characters. However I am aware that the frequency of action will make this sound like a great film to some viewers.Sadly the action is mostly the type we have come to expect from Seagal – filmed in lots of takes, with lots of edits, tight angles and little in the way of flow or impressive moves to talk about. Some of the tough posturing and noise makes it distracting but never once is it really genuinely exciting or thrilling. The cast are unsurprisingly poor as well. Seagal continues to demonstrate almost not range worth speaking of and just whispers his way through this film with his accent being his "acting" contribution. He is supported by Eddie Griffin – yes, that Eddie Griffin; a man who is rarely a sign of quality and is no different here. The rest of the cast are pretty weak and bring little to the party; Serano may be stunning but she cannot deliver these lines for toffee.Urban Justice is a typical film from Seagal in that it has basic noise and fighting but little else. The film looks badly lit and the script produces poor dialogue, no characters and an obvious plot – all of which allows the actors to do nothing, something they are happy to do. Big fans of Seagal may find enough here to satisfy but for everyone else this cheaply made and lazy film will have very little to hold your interest.
Are you kidding me?
posted on 13 Jan 20096.1 out of 10 as average? I think this is a joke! Higher rating than Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, Out for Justice and Under Siege? You must be kidding me! This film was just so-so at Seagal's best. It was nice to see him returning to his old-school style in this one but overall the entertainment by itself was not that good. Of course, it is a lot better...I mean MUCH better than any of his DTV films but not Into The Sun. I liked Into the Sun over Urban Justice because of better production values and Seagal seems more on rampage in that film than in this one. I know Into the Sun didn't have that much action and fighting scenes like this one but I still liked it better mostly due to better camera work/techniques.The directing was just average but not worth enough to prove anything good for a theatrical release.With the profanity in this one...I HATED IT and I didn't think any of those were that funny. They tried to blow some funny one-liners but it doesn't work in this one. F bombs in almost every line which got on my nerves because it doesn't add any gritty feel to the film.As what I exactly expected that I was having low expectations for this one, for any Seagal DTV films at the most.
White Boy on the Rampage
posted on 16 Dec 2008The Steven Seagal actioneer "Urban Justice" is a formulaic, straight-to-video, B-movie crime thriller with all the usual clichés and stock characters, including corrupt cops, African-American and Hispanic gangsters, helpless snitches, profane dialogue galore, and a father with a mysterious past bent on avenging the death of his grown-up son. The important difference between the typical movie that fits this description and "Urban Justice" is that Steven Seagal plays the protagonist here with his quintessential, ultra-cool style and his unique aikido combat technique. Comedian Eddie Griffin is cast as Seagal's nemesis and he spouts some of the most sardonic dialogue that you've ever heard. When one of his crew fails to ice the Seagal character, Griffin calls him "b***h" and then speculates about if he shouldn't purchase him a dress and a pair of roller skates to complete the picture. Everybody utters the f-word or variations on the f-word at least 50 times. Not surprisingly, ghetto slang pervades scenarist Gilmar Fortis II's tough guy dialogue. "Urban Justice" surpasses the standard Seagal direct-to-video release with its deceptively simple but satisfying storyline about vengeance. This is also an interesting relationship between our protagonist and a snitch. Our hero devastates a succession of brawny adversaries, reducing them to whining casualties if he doesn't ice them outright. "Mercenary for Justice" director Don E. FauntLeRoy, pulling double-duty as the cinematographer, stages a credible chase scene and orchestrates an exciting firefight that boasts some best geysering blood squibs since Sam Peckinpah made bloodletting imperative with"The Wild Bunch." Max Ballister(Cory Hart of "Stop-Loss") is a nice, clean-cut, conscientious, young L.A.P.D. Vice Squad cop with a pretty wife. He witnesses one of his colleagues, Frank Shaw (Kirk B.R. Woller of "Swordfish"), as undercover law enforcement agents roust a motorist and takes something from him. Max snaps a photo of these dudes taking something from the suspect and handing it to a guy in a big white car. Later, Max receives a phone call and drives off to a rendezvous where he is shot dead in the street by a passing motorist. Mind you, Max's murder would have amounted to nothing special were his father not Simon Ballister (Steven Seagal of "On Deadly Ground") who regrets not having spent more time with him. Says Simon to a friend, "There's really no greater sorrow that when a man's own child passes away before he does." Anyway, Simon checked with the L.A.P.D, and Det. Shaw informs him that the chances of bringing Max's murderer to justice "are slim to none." Simon visits Max's wife after the L.A.P.D. funeral with an honor guard firing a salute to the memory of their deceased comrade. Simon moves into an upstairs apartment in one of the worst crime-ridden sections of town and promptly encounters several members of the local criminal element and flattens them with his aikido skills. Meanwhile, Shaw is working in co-hoots with black gangster Armand Tucker (Eddie Griffin of "Norbit") who wants his henchmen to make Simon "lay down and stay down." As it turns out, disposing of Simon proves to be virtually impossible. During his search for the individual that shot Max, Simon meets an African-American youth, Gary Morrison (Jade Yorker), who sends him down the wrong alley to Hispanic ganglord El Chivo (Danny Trejo of "Reindeer Games"), but Chivo assures Simon that he had nothing to do with Max's murder. In fact, Chivo says that Max was a good cop and killing him would have brought more heat down on him than he needed. Simon turns this over in his brain and observes, "You know, I look at you and I see a man like me . . . a bad man with good intentions." Sadly, the great Trejo is in "Urban Justice" for one scene only in what amounts to a cameo. Meanwhile, Armand Tucker (Eddie Griffin) dispatches his crew to wipe out Simon, but they fail miserably. By the time that Simon has learned the identity of his son's killer, he has massacred virtually all of Armand's crew. The ending has a surprise that you'd never expect. Everything in "Urban Justice" is predictable, but it's always fun to watch Seagal demolish overconfident adversaries without mussing his hair. "Urban Justice" stands out among too many of Seagal's recent movies that either were really execrable (but kept the paychecks rolling in) or inserted dubbed lines into the "Under Siege" star's lips. Oh, yes, Seagal gets his man.
Return to form?
posted on 14 Dec 2008Steven Seagal's recent films have left a lot to be desired, so it's with a relieved tone that I announce that Urban Justice may be Steven Seagal's best film since Exit Wounds. Seagal is Simon Ballister, the father of a decorated cop that was recently slain in the line of duty. Returning to the neighborhood, Ballister shakes the foundation to find his son's murderer...and lay him to rest. Don E. Fauntleroy, director of Today You Die (pretty bad) and Mercenary for Justice (pretty decent) must have finally talked Seagal into giving the fans what they want: more fighting and an honest effort. Eddie Griffin provides good comedic relief and a decent heavy. This one does not disappoint, as Seagal seems to honestly be trying again. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come rather than a swan song to Seagal of the past. quotable quote: As the woman who helps Seagal sees how far he's willing to take his vengeance by saying he's just as bad as his enemies. He replies with "No, I'm a lot f****** worse."
Steven Seagals back for real !!!
posted on 26 Nov 2008I went to work this week and had a chance to take home the preview DVD of urban justice and also be the first one in the store to see it. I have to tell everybody this. This is the best Steven seagal film he has done in ages and i mean ages. The fight scenes were at the same quality as in the glimmer man and there were no voice dubs at all and heres the best bit..... there are no stunt doubles in this film i was amazed that being a recent Steven seagal film there was nothing critical wrong with urban justice. The overall plot of the movie was typical Steven seagal material but overall if you are a fan of Steven seagal you will love this action flick. Forget attack force and flight of fury.... Steven seagal is back.
Absolutely terrible, even for Segal Standarts...
posted on 10 Nov 2008I watched this movie knowing nothing about it except that its a Segal flick and I have at times enjoyed those in a guilty pleasure type of way. Well Urban Justice does not fit into that category. It is an absolutely terrible film. The story/ending is predictable from the beginning, the casting could not be worse, the dialog is cheesy and stale, the music does not fit the scenes and the direction does not make sense from one moment to the next.I think anybody who wants to watch a Segal flick should just rent Under Siege, even if that means you are seeing it for the 50th time. Urban Justice is a waste of time, unless you want to see how bad movie-making can get at its worst...
Standard Segal with a bigger budget...
posted on 31 Oct 2008Urban Justice is your basic revenge story. Seagal plays an older, fatter version of himself on a mission to avenge the murder of his son in beautiful Compton, California. Seagal is undeniably past his prime now, although it's still fun to watch him cruising solo through the streets of east LA smacking gangsters around. It's pretty sad when they give him too much slang, though. He's a middle aged father, he shouldn't be speaking like a 19 year old gang member! Essentially, he is basically Rambo, patrolling gang-infested streets alone and, as they say, bringing fists to gunfights, but he's Seagal, he can get away with that. There's nothing new here and sadly the only reason to watch it might be to see what Seagal looks like these days. He can still fight, but Urban Justice is no Out for Justice.
Nice film
posted on 21 Aug 2009Steven Seagal is back. The film was shot very dark, that is the lighting of most of the fights. They did remind me of old school Seagal movies, when he first bust onto the scene. It was good to see him do his own fighting, the moves are great and believable.The dialog was very corny, at least Seagal said just enough, to pass. Most of the gangsters talking was like out of a comic book!The big question was how bad ass was Seagal, where did he learn to do what he was doing? How did he just roll thru the hood without any back up? Maybe the next will be better then this one, I will watch, hoping for the best.