Justice (1999)

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Good concept, poorly executed.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

***SPOILERS*** Boring police flick about an undercover agent Frank Spello, James Belushi, biting off far more the he can chew and getting whacked for doing it. It's Spello who got himself arrested and sent to prison to at fist save and then befriend Chicago Mafia Boss Big Sal, Henry Silva, from getting knifed in the prison lunchroom. It's later that Big Sal give him a job in his organization as a pizza delivery and towel boy, at a mob controlled whorehouse, when he got out of prison. No sooner then you can say Geronimo is when Spello gets himself involved with D.A Gina Gallagher, Tracy Needham, who's job it is to put the Mifia members and Columbian drug dealers behind bars! It's Gina who has a hit put on her for busting big time Colombian drug kingpin Gil Rivera, Miguel Perez, for money laundering. That after he beat a murder rap for gunning down a DEA agent and his informer in the jungles of Columbia.As for Gina she's now in hot water in that Rivera's fellow drug dealer Jairo Jaramilo, Richard Zauaglia, is the person who put out the hit in retaliation for her sending his good friend and fellow drug kingpin Gil Rivera up the river in a federal penitentiary for life plus 150 years. It's then when Gina's very out of shape and extremely overweight, how could anyone not notice, Godfather retired Chicago detective Moe Ryan, Charles Durning,gets himself involved in order for him to keep her from getting whacked. But what's really going on is that a top member in the D.A's office Jane Newheart, JoeBeth Williams, is keeping vital information from the police in what's to come down by using an informant's information to farther her career and thus putting a number of law enforcement member in the Chicago Police Department as well as FBI & DEA men in mortal danger.Almost impossible to follow with all the sub-plots added in the film plods along with even those in it seeming to lose interest as well as those of us watching. There's a number of shootouts and a grizzly home invasion that ends with those involved in it getting whacked by the person who ordered it before they can safely fly out of the country and back home to Columbia. About the best scene in the film is the meeting between the Columbian drug dealers and their Mafia contact Big Sal at a Chicago restaurant where the truth comes out, over a couple of cups of espresso coffee, in what's really going on between them that has to do with undercover FBI Agent Spello. It's Spello who then stupidity blew his cover as well as wire and ended up getting blasted for it.***SPOILERS*** The really meaningless ending really didn't solve anything but only proved to us that crime does not pay but mostly for those in law enforcement who want to farther their careers at the expense of their fellow law enforcers with the criminal element free to commit their life of crime. For as long as play ball, by being snitches and informers, for those who are out to arrest and put them out of business!

Phew! I had to work hard to get my five or six brain cells to keep up with this one, a scatter-shot film in the genre of action/court drama/prison/gangster/revenge movie. The film started off in Colombia where a DEA agent gets executed and micturated on, then jumps ahead eight months to a prison where James Belushi saves Henry Silva from getting shanked, then jumps ahead a year to a courtroom. I was beginning to think that by the time Charles Durning showed up, they'd all be in the future fighting on hoverboards (man, that would have been great).The hugely complicated plot is this: Tracy Needham convicts a Colombian drug dealer who killed her partner, so he orders a hit and her partner gets wasted (as does his wife), so Charles Durning turns up as her protector and they go after the Colombian (who in turn are trying to kill them), Belushi is now working for Silva in the mafia (or is he?) and some Fed and her Marshall are covering things up for some reason I didn't catch. Got all that?The film moves briskly enough and there's plenty of action and such like (except my disc had a glitch that missed out the climatic battle - cheers Cash Convertors!), but if you're drunk you might want to watch something with a simpler plot. I give this film a high marking because Henry Silva is absolutely brilliant here. Just wait till you see the scene where, in one of his restaurants, he offers Colombian dealers a coffee and then charges them $2.50 for the pleasure (then gets really really angry when they don't want to pay) - worth watching for that scene alone. It's alright. I must note, however, that I couldn't take my eyes off Charles Durning's frame. He's...err...a bit on the large side.

This is really bad!Even for a tv movie,why is James Belushi getting star billing and on the front cover?He is in the film for like about 7 minutes total and on the front cover he is in a prison,he is actually in a prison for about 1 minute of the film.This is a blatant marketing scam to get people watching it because of James Belushi in it.The film itself is awfull even though I paid £5 for it.The one good thing about it is the leading lady who is very attractive,AVOID.

All films must necessarily proceed from the script. When the script is drawn from the Collected Cliches of North America and the largest line item on the budget is cocaine acquisition, the result must be worth far less than the life force used to view it. The only good thing I can say about this movie is that Tracey Needham is pleasant to look at once she wipes off the Marilyn Monroe makeup.